DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Housing

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received on the quality of accommodation for members of the armed forces in the UK.

Derek Twigg: Ministers have received a number of representations from right hon. and hon. Members and members of the public. For example, during the last six months 125 items of correspondence were received.

Defence: Ireland

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements are in place to facilitate co-operation with the Irish defence forces following the decision to withdraw the UK defence attaché from the British embassy in Dublin.

Bob Ainsworth: holding  answer  17 December 2007
	 Alternative arrangements have been put in place to ensure that our relationship is maintained. The defence attaché Dublin is now the Director of Defence Diplomacy based in London; he has an important remit to fulfil the role of defence attaché on a non-residental basis. He and his team are working in close cooperation with the ambassador and his staff at the embassy. The Irish defence forces were consulted before these arrangements were put in place and are content with how the defence relationship is now being handled.

Departmental ICT

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's original estimate was of the overall projected cost of the Defence Information Infrastructure; what his current estimate is of the overall projected cost; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The Defence Information Infrastructure Programme is being delivered incrementally; the current approved costs for the on-contract Increments 1 and 2a (which support the Fixed environment) and 2b (which supports Deployed) are, rounded to the nearest £0.1 billion, £4.1 billion and £0.4 billion respectively, giving a total of £4.5 billion. This is within 3 per cent of original programme estimates at Main Gate.

Departmental ICT

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what savings the Defence Information Infrastructure made in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The Defence Information Infrastructure Programme has delivered the £170 million efficiency savings projected at the Main Gate approval point for its first three years, comprising £40 million in financial year 2005-06; £80 million in financial year 2006-07 and £50 million projected in financial year 2007-08.

Departmental Recycling

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much and what proportion of its waste his Department recycled in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 18 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1457W.

United Kingdom Hydrographic Office

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence why the his Department's review of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office does not incorporate any of the recommendations made in the 2006 Office of Fair Trading report—The Commercial Use of Public Sector Information.

Derek Twigg: The Government published a response to the Office of Fair Trade report, Commercial Use of Public Sector Information, in June 2007. The recommendation for the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office to remain an Executive Agency financed through a Trading Fund took the response by Government fully into account.

United Kingdom Hydrographic Office: Standards

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason the decision was made to complete and publish his Department's review of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office before the Government-commissioned review of Trading Funds, currently being carried out by Cambridge University, had been completed.

Derek Twigg: The conclusions of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office structural and ownership options review have a direct impact on staff and international allies. For this reason the conclusions were announced at the earliest opportunity. The conclusion to remain a Trading Fund was not dependent on the outcome of policy considerations in pricing policy for public information.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Redundancies

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the cost was of redundancies in his Department in the 12 months preceding  (a) 30 June 2004,  (b) 30 June 2005 and  (c) 30 June 2006.

David Cairns: All the staff in the Scotland Office are on loan from other Government Departments and redundancy issues are a matter for the parent Departments.

Regulation

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland for which regulators and inspectorates his Department has had responsibility in each year since 1997; what the budget was of each such body in each year; and what the cost to the public purse was of any restructuring of each such body in each year.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999 and is not responsible for any regulators and inspectorates.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Corporate Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality on how many occasions she has accepted corporate hospitality in the last 12 months.

Barbara Follett: Ministers are required to notify their permanent secretary and it should be declared in the Register of Members' or Peers' Interests. Registration of hospitality would normally be required for hospitality over £600 in value for the Commons and £1,000 for the Lords. No notifications have been required since the Deputy Minister for Women and Equality took up her post.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Basra Development Commission

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what development projects have been identified for funding by the Basra Development Commission; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many officials from his Department are seconded to the Basra Development Commission; where these officials are based; and how much has been spent by his Department on the Commission.

Douglas Alexander: The Basra Development Commission (BDC) has not identified any development projects. So far one Commissioner has been appointed (Michael Wareing, international CEO of KPMG) and the Government of Iraq and Basra Provincial Council (BPC) are expected to appoint further Commissioners in the coming weeks. Moreover, the Commission's role will be to provide guidance and advice on economic issues, not to identify development projects.
	No DFID officials have been seconded to the BDC. The Commission is expected to consist of several Commissioners and a small Secretariat. DFID has not allocated any funds specifically for expenditure on the BDC. Some logistical support for the Commission is being provided through existing DFID programmes for Basra, but no financial assistance.

Departmental Manpower

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many and what proportion of posts in his Department have been recategorised from back office to frontline posts as classified by the Gershon efficiency review in each year since 2004.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) is committed to achieving work force reductions of 297 posts by the end of 2007-08. This is a net target and no posts have been reclassified under this initiative.

Sudan: Overseas Aid

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid was given to Sudan in each of the last five years; what conditions were attached to the aid provided; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: DFID does not give funds directly to the Government of Sudan. DFID's aid to Sudan is primarily delivered as humanitarian assistance through civil society organisations and multilateral institutions and not subject to conditionality.
	As with all DFID aid, however, monitoring arrangements are in place to ensure that it is spent as intended and achieves its objectives. NGO and UN partners monitor humanitarian assistance on our behalf to ensure it reached beneficiaries.
	Information on UK aid to Sudan is available in the DFID publication "Statistics on International Development 2007". This publication is available online at www.dfid. gov.uk. Relevant figures are reproduced in the following tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: UK total bilateral gross public expenditure on development 2002-03 to 2006-07 
			   Sudan (£000) 
			 2002-03 19,222 
			 2003-04 24,663 
			 2004-05 83,964 
			 2005-06 117,114 
			 2006-07 109,917 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Imputed UK share of multilateral official development assistance (ODA) 2001-05 
			   Sudan (£000) 
			 2001 3,020 
			 2002 2,650 
			 2003 20,032 
			 2004 6,892 
			 2005 18,343

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Coal Fired Power Stations: Carbon Sequestration

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what representations he has received from industry on the  (a) costs and  (b) expected dates of retrofitting carbon capture and storage to new build coal fired power stations.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government have undertaken two formal consultations with industry on these matters. These are the 2005 Carbon Abatement Technology (CAT) Strategy and the 2006 HMT consultation on the barriers to CCS, the responses of which can be found on the HMT website:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk./media/7/3/carbon_2_dr_freund.02.pdf
	In addition, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has also held informal consultations on this matter with industry leading up to, and following, the launch on 19 November 2007 of the UK's CCS demonstration competition.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Alcoholic Drinks: Advertising

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will take steps to prohibit the advertising of alcohol in the cinema before films with a lower than 18 certificate.

Margaret Hodge: The Government take the issue of alcohol abuse among children and young people very seriously and as part of our national alcohol strategy, "Safe. Sensible. Social." we are reviewing the evidence on the relationship between alcohol price, promotion and harm.
	Advertising regulations must be robust and based on best evidence. If new evidence emerged which clearly highlighted problems in relation to consumer harm caused by alcohol advertising, then the regulators would need to consider this fully and take appropriate action.

Climate Change

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department  (a) has taken and  (b) intends to take by (i) 2012 and (ii) 2020 in relation to adaptation to the effects of climate change as they affect his departmental responsibilities; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 6 December 2007
	My Department is carrying out a project to identify potential climate change impacts on our sectors. We started this work last June, in advance of the Climate Change Bill. We recognised that over the longer-term climate change may impose significant costs and challenges for the preservation of the country's historic environment, the design of new buildings and much of the sport and leisure infrastructure, such as public parks and playing fields. We are working closely with our sponsored bodies to explore mitigation and adaptation practices. Our findings will inform the targets for our next Sustainable Development Action Plan and our future climate change policy.
	In connection with the 2012 Olympic Games and their legacy, the London 2012 Sustainability Plan—Towards a One Planet 2012—launched on 26 November, includes commitments that new permanent venues in the Olympic Park will respond to climate change challenges. These commitments also apply to the new parkland and will influence the development of the whole site.

Digital Switchover Help Scheme

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding will be provided to local authorities to cover the cost of digital switchover of communal TV systems in local authority-owned properties.

James Purnell: Digital television services were first introduced in 1998. Since then local authorities with housing stock as well as other social and private sector landlords, have been taking action to provide residents with access to these services by ensuring that communal television systems are capable of relaying digital television services. No additional funding has been, or will be, provided to local authorities for the costs of modernising communal televisions systems.

Flags

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he expects to announce the results of the consultation on the rules on flying the Union Flag on public buildings.

Margaret Hodge: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport plans to publish the summary of responses to the consultation shortly and the Government response will follow.

Opinion Leader Research

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 18 December 2007,  Official Report, column 105WS, on the correction to written parliamentary Question 16520, what  (a) discussions and  (b) meetings his Department had with (i) the Central Office of Information and (ii) Opinion Leader Research while preparing (A) the answer to Question 165260 and (B) the written ministerial statement.

Margaret Hodge: An official from my Department had a telephone conversation with an official from the Central Office of Information (COI). The purpose was to confirm the facts given in the corrected answer and written statement. There were no meetings. There has been no contact with Opinion Leader Research.

S4C

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will consider transferring responsibility for S4C to the Welsh Executive.

James Purnell: Broadcasting in the United Kingdom is a reserved matter and the Government currently have no plans to transfer responsibility for S4C to the Welsh Executive.

Television

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what criteria were used by the Central Office of Information to choose Opinion Leader Research to produce the qualitative research project on the BBC Trust and the television licence fee in December 2005;
	(2)  what the tendering process was for the qualitative research project on the BBC Trust and the television licence fee, produced by Opinion Leader Research in December 2005.

Margaret Hodge: The Department used the expertise of the Central Office of Information and its well established roster system to allocate the project.
	Opinion Leader Research was selected for this project by the Central Office of Information from its roster as the most appropriate agency available to conduct this research, taking into account its previous experience, expertise, and most importantly, its capacity and availability for a project which needed to be completed within a short timescale.
	The Central Office of Information sets up framework agreements with companies in a manner fully compliant with the procurement rules of the European Union. The framework agreements are advertised in the Official Journal of the European Journal and are refreshed on a regular basis.
	Suppliers are appointed to the frameworks on the basis of their expertise, capability and value for money.

Tourism

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of  (a) overseas and  (b) UK tourists visiting (i) Cumbria and (ii) Copeland in the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: The following tables show (i) the number of overseas visits to Cumbria and (ii) the number of domestic overnight trips to the North West region for the latest years for which data are available.
	Information on visits at constituency level by foreign and domestic tourists is not available.
	
		
			  Overseas Visits: Cumbria 
			   Thousand 
			 2002 180 
			 2003 199 
			 2004 203 
			 2005 210 
			 2006 226 
			  Source: International Passenger Survey (ONS). 
		
	
	
		
			  Domestic Overnight Trips by UK Residents( 1) 
			   Million 
			 2002 14.5 
			 2003 16.0 
			 2004 12.9 
			 2005 15.3 
			 2006 13.5 
			 (1 )The methodology for the UKTS changed in 2005 meaning that comparisons with previous years should be treated with caution. This change occurred as a result of concerns with the quality of 2004 data, which is thought to be an under-representation of the true position.  Source: UK Tourism Survey (National Tourist Boards).

Tourism

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the average length of stay by  (a) domestic tourists and  (b) foreign tourists visiting Copeland over the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: The tables show the average length of stay by (i) domestic overnight tourists in the North West region and (ii) overseas visitors in Cumbria for the last five years for which data are available.
	Information at constituency level is not available.
	
		
			  Average number of nights spent by domestic tourists( 1)  (2002-06) 
			  North West  Average 
			 2002 2.7 
			 2003 2.8 
			 2004 3.0 
			 2005 2.9 
			 2006 2.8 
			 (1) The methodology for the UKTS changed in 2005 meaning that comparisons with previous years should be treated with caution. This change occurred as a result of concerns with the quality of 2004 data, which is thought to be an under-representation of the true position.  Source: UK Tourism Survey (National Tourist Boards) 
		
	
	
		
			  Average number of nights spent by overseas residents (2002-06) 
			  Cumbria  Average 
			 2002 5 
			 2003 6 
			 2004 6 
			 2005 7 
			 2006 7 
			  Source: International Passenger Survey (ONS)

Tourism

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the proportion of the gross value added of Copeland that has been generated by domestic visitors over the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: Information on the proportion of the gross value added of Copeland generated by domestic visitors is not available.
	However, the English regions "First Steps Tourism Satellite Account" report (August 2005) estimated that the contribution of tourism to the North West was £2.7 billion (2.75 per cent. of gross value added) in 2003.

Tourism

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of visitor beds that were available in Copeland constituency in each of the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: Information on the latest estimates of bed spaces available in Copeland is shown in the table. Consistent figures for previous years are unavailable due to improvements to the method of recording accommodation stock that were implemented by Cumbria Tourism following a review in 2006.
	
		
			  Number of bed spaces in Copeland (April 2007) 
			  Accommodation type  Number of bed spaces 
			 Serviced accommodation 2,090 
			 Non-serviced accommodation 4,872 
			  Source: Cumbria Tourism DMS files, April 2007

Tourism

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in Copeland constituency who were employed in the tourism sector in each of the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: Information on employment in the tourism sector in Copeland is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Employment in the tourism-related sector( 1)  (2002-06) 
			  Copeland  Number 
			 2002 1,700 
			 2003 1,800 
			 2004 1,900 
			 2005 2,100 
			 2006 2,100 
			 (1) Tourism-related jobs include employment in hotels, camping sites, restaurants, bars, activities of travel agencies, libraries, archives, museums, sporting activities and other recreational activities.  Source: Annual Business Inquiry employee analysis, ONS

Tourism

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who were involved in work-based training in the tourism sector in Copeland constituency in each of the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) North West has provided data for each of the last three years on the number of people in work-based learning in Travel and Tourism and in Hospitality and Catering in Copeland, Cumbria and the North West. The LSC has also provided data on the number undertaking learning through Train to Gain since it was rolled out nationally in 2006. The LSC also holds data on the number of people in these areas undertaking learning in further education.
	In 2004-05, 25 people were involved in work-based learning in Travel and Tourism and in Hospitality and Catering in Copeland, 259 people in Cumbria and 3,042 in the North West; in 2005-06, 17 people were involved in Copeland, 230 in Cumbria and 2,544 in the North West; and in 2006-07, 24 people were involved in Copeland, 238 in Cumbria and 2,254 in the North West. In 2006-07, seven people also started learning through Train to Gain in Copeland, 97 in Cumbria and 2,271 in the North West.
	My Department expects data for 2002-03 and 2003-04 to become available shortly and I will write to the hon. Member separately with this information.

Tourism

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether his Department has made an estimate of the average spend per head of domestic tourists visiting Copeland in the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: The table shows average expenditure per head of domestic overnight tourists visiting the North West.
	Information at constituency level is not available.
	
		
			  Average expenditure( 1)  of domestic overnight tourists( 2)  (2002-06) 
			   North West 
			 2002 160 
			 2003 163 
			 2004 181 
			 2005 167 
			 2006 170 
			 (1) Expenditure includes items such as package holidays, accommodation, travel to and from the destination and during the trip, services and advice, buying clothes, eating and drinking out, shopping, entertainment and other items relating to the trip. (2) The methodology for the UKTS changed in 2005 meaning that comparisons with previous years should be treated with caution. This change occurred as a result of concerns with the quality of 2004 data, which is thought to be an under-representation of the true position.  Source:  UK Tourism Survey (National Tourist Boards)

Tourism

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the average expenditure per head by overseas tourists visiting  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Copeland in the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: The table shows the average expenditure per head by overseas visitors to Cumbria in the last five years for which data are available.
	Information at constituency level is not available.
	
		
			  Average expenditure( 1)  per head by overseas residents (2002-06) 
			  Cumbria  £ 
			 2002 227 
			 2003 251 
			 2004 251 
			 2005 276 
			 2006 261 
			 (1) Expenditure excludes fares for travel to and from the UK.  Source: International Passenger Survey (ONS).

TRANSPORT

Cars: Safety

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations she has received on faulty bonnet catches on Renault Clios; and what discussions  (a) she and  (b) her officials have had with the manufacturers on a possible product recall.

Jim Fitzpatrick: h olding answer 7 January 2008
	The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) is responsible for managing vehicle safety recalls in GB. VOSA has received two formal vehicle safety defect reports from customers alleging faulty bonnet catches on Renault Clios. VOSA does not record the number of customer contacts asking for information or advice but estimates that its Vehicle Safety Branch has handled 50 such enquiries in the last six months.
	The Secretary of State has not met with Renault on this matter. VOSA does not keep a tally of the number of discussions it has with a manufacturer. Officials at VOSA have worked closely with Renault since the bonnet opening incidents were first reported and I can confirm they have had numerous face-to-face meetings and telephone contacts with Renault UK and Renault Headquarters in France on this matter during the last two years.

Christmas

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what her Department's policy is on the selection of  (a) real and  (b) artificial Christmas trees for her Department's festive decorations; and how real trees are disposed of.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport has no specific policy on this matter and both real and artificial Christmas trees are used on departmental premises. Real trees are purchased in accordance with Government procurement rules and are disposed of via recycling. Artificial trees are not disposed of and continue to be re-used every year.

Dartford Tunnel: Fees and Charges

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will make a statement on the Dartford Crossing charging regime for people in  (a) Castle Point and  (b) South Essex.

Rosie Winterton: In April 2007 the Department announced that it would develop a local discount scheme for the Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing for consultation later in the year. A consultation on a discount scheme for local residents will be announced shortly.

Driving: Disabled

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Blue Badge disabled drivers permits have been issued in Copeland over the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: 7,165 disabled drivers permits (Blue Badges) were issued in Copeland in the five year period between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2007.

Members: Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many letters her Department received from hon. Members and Peers in each session of Parliament since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of departments in replying to Members/Peers correspondence. Information relating to 2007 will be published as soon as it has been collated. The report for 2006 was published on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 101-04WS. Reports for earlier years are available in the Library of the House.

Metronet

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which companies made up Metronet in the period before it went into administration.

Rosie Winterton: Before going into administration, Metronet Rail BCV Ltd. And Metronet Rail SSL Ltd. were owned by the same consortium of five shareholders, each shareholder holding 20 per cent. of each company. These five shareholders are:
	Bombardier
	Balfour Beatty
	Atkins
	EDF Energy
	Thames Water

Minimum Wage

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many London-based staff are employed by her Department on the national minimum wage.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department does not have any London based staff employed on the national minimum wage.

Motorways

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultation will be undertaken with  (a) local residents and  (b) those with business premises between junctions 26 to 30 of the M25 motorway.

Tom Harris: A series of five public exhibitions on the proposals for the widening of the M25 from Junction 27-30 were held during November and December 2007 to support the publication of the Environmental Statement. The comment period ends on 7 February 2008.
	Similar exhibitions will be held for the section from Junction 26-27 as part of the consultation for the M25 Junction 23-27 widening. It is currently proposed that the Environmental Statement for this section will be published in 2011-12.

Public Transport: Concessions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects the Minister of State to reply to the letter of 21 November requesting a meeting with representatives from Worthing Borough Council to discuss the effect of the concessionary fares scheme in Worthing.

Rosie Winterton: A reply has been sent to the hon. Member today.

Roads

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the M25 near Romford will be widened.

Tom Harris: The M25 near Romford will be improved as part of the M25 Junction 27-30 widening. Subject to the satisfactory completion of the necessary statutory processes and the availability of funding, the current proposed start of works for this section of widening is 2009-10.

Roads

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the M25 will be widened throughout its length.

Tom Harris: The current proposals for widening the M25 relate to the following sections:
	
		
			  Scheme  Proposed start of works  Expected completion 
			 Junctions 1b-3 2008 2009 
			 Junctions 5-7 2012 2015 
			 Junctions 16-23 2009 2012 
			 Junctions 23-27 2012 2015 
			 Junctions 27-30 2009-10 2012

Roads

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans there are to improve the M25 near the junction 27 (Romford) turn off.

Tom Harris: The M25 near Junction 27 will be improved as part of the Junction 27-30 widening. Subject to the satisfactory completion of the necessary statutory processes and availability of funding, start of works are planned for 2009-10.

Roads: Accidents

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the percentage of road accidents within the Copeland area which were caused by drivers using hand-held mobile telephones in the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Information on the percentage of reported personal injury road accidents within Great Britain that had 'Driver using mobile phone' recorded as a contributory factor can be found in table 4b of the "Contributory factors to road accidents" article in "Road Casualties Great Britain" at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/162259/162469/221412/221549/227755/rcgb2006v1.pdf
	These data are not available at local authority level and are not available prior to 2005. The contributory factor 'Driver using mobile phone' includes 'hand held' and 'hands free' phones.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the planned cost is of the road and road bridge due to replace the underpass connecting Down's Road and Hog Lane on the A2 trunk road in Gravesham.

Tom Harris: The estimated cost of the new Downs Road including the new bridge over the realigned section of A2 in Gravesham is £1.1 million.

Roads: Safety

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much Government funding was provided for road safety schemes in  (a) North East Lincolnshire and  (b) North Lincolnshire in each year since 2001-02.

Rosie Winterton: The Government have provided specific road safety grants of £372,868 for North East Lincolnshire council and £427,793 for North Lincolnshire council in 2007-08. The grants replaced a scheme, in operation from 2000-01 to 2006-07, for the local use of income generated by safety camera partnerships.
	Central Government have provided financial support for local authorities to invest in road safety within the integrated transport block, which can be used for a wide range of investment in transport according to local authorities' policies and priorities. Typically local authorities spend about one fifth of their integrated transport block on road safety projects. The figures for North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire are shown in table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1: integrated transport block 
			  £ million 
			   N.E. Lincolnshire  N. Lincolnshire 
			 2001-02 2.1 1.2 
			 2002-03 4.7 2.2 
			 2003-04 3.6 2.9 
			 2004-05 3.22 3.156 
			 2005-06 2.0 2.7 
			 2006-07 2.185 1.67 
			 2007-08 2.231 1.795 
		
	
	In addition local authorities receive support for road safety services via unhypothecated formula grant (including revenue support grant).

Written Questions

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she will answer Questions 169010 to 169015, tabled by the hon. Member for Richmond Park on 23 November 2007, on personal information.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I replied to the hon. Member on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 1169-70W.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

A12: Fires

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when her Department received a request for the penetration by high velocity round of the oxyacetylene cylinder in the fire incident on the A12 at Eight Ash Green on 5 October; for what reasons the request was refused; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 7 January 2008 (PQ175549).

Boyhood to Manhood Foundation

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  when she expects to meet representatives from the Boyhood to Manhood Foundation;
	(2)  what discussions her Department has had with the Boyhood to Manhood Foundation in the last 12 months.

Parmjit Dhanda: Officials from the Department have had several discussions with the Boyhood to Manhood Foundation and have also visited the foundation to observe and participate in frontline service delivery.

Community Relations: Religion

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings her officials have had on combating violent extremism in Britain since 2005.

Parmjit Dhanda: Communities and Local Government took on responsibility for the community-led response to violent extremism as part of the machinery of Government changes in May 2006. Since then, officials have met regularly with partners across central and local government and internationally, and a wide range of community stakeholders.

Council Tax: Empty Property

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to reduce the council tax discount on empty homes.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1132W.

Council Tax: Greater London

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Band D council tax was on  (a) the fire/police precept and  (b) the GLA precept in London in each year since 1997-98.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 December 2007,  Official Report, column 539W.

Council Tax: Greater London

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the change was in Band D council tax in each London borough in each year since 1997-98.

John Healey: Details of the percentage change in Band D council tax in  (a) London and  (b) each London borough in each year since 1997-98 are available on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/fmance/ctax/data/ctaxtimes.xls.

Council Tax: Lee Valley

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether council tax precepts issued by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority are subject to the capping regime.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 December 2007,  Official Report, column 540W.

Departmental Data Protection

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what exchanges of personal data have taken place between her Department and local authorities in the last 12 months; and what physical or electronic media were used in each such exchange.

Parmjit Dhanda: Communities and Local Government holds some anonymous and aggregated personal data relating to particular policy areas which is collected by local authorities. These are used to support the monitoring implementation and success of these policies. The data consist of information about individuals' personal attributes and circumstances and reasons for service provision but the individual cannot be identified.
	These data are transferred to the Department either using a secure portal or via encrypted discs which are signed for on delivery. Like other Departments, we are currently carrying out a review of arrangements in relation to the sharing and holding of personal data and these specific arrangements will be reviewed as part of that process.

Departmental Standards

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the strategic objectives for her Department will be published, further to the publication of the Public Service Agreement delivery agreement for her Department.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department's Departmental Strategic Objectives (DSOS) were published as part of the CSR07 settlement announced on 9 October 2007. They are available via the CLG external website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/about/howwework/publicserviceagreements/

Empty Property: Fires

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many unoccupied domestic properties in England and Wales were damaged or affected by fire in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 7 January 2008
	The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			  Fires in unoccupied dwellings, England and Wales, 2002-06 
			   Number 
			 2002 3,031 
			 2003 2,827 
			 2004 2,286 
			 2005 1,592 
			 2006 1,424 
			  Note: Data for 2006 are provisional. Excludes incidents not recorded during periods of industrial action in 2002 and 03.

EU Grants and Loans

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people employed in her Department work on administering EU structural funds; and what the cost of such staff was in 2006-07.

Parmjit Dhanda: Communities and Local Government employed a division of 28 people in 2006-07 to administer England's European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grant programmes. The staff cost for that year was £1.2 million.
	The division has been reorganised during 2007-08 and the number of staff employed is currently being reduced.

Fire Services

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were  (a) on duty and  (b) recalled in each fire and rescue service in the 72 hour period commencing 00:00 on 20 July 2007.

Parmjit Dhanda: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Fire Services: Contracts

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what minimum contractual periods are contained within the contracts for the  (a) FireControl and  (b) Firelink projects; and whether the contracts allow for early termination of the agreements.

Parmjit Dhanda: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 12 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 683-84W.

Fire Services: Contracts

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for contracts to be finalised for the  (a) FireControl and  (b) Firelink projects.

Parmjit Dhanda: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 12 December 2007,  Official Report, column 683W.

Fire Services: Risk Assessment

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many project risks are listed for the  (a) FireLink and  (b) FireControl project; how many of these risks are rated as high or above; and what the risks rated as high or above are.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 7 January 2008
	There are 76 project risks on the Firelink Risk Register, of which some 20 per cent. are rated high or above. These risks are actively managed and mitigated in order to reduce their impact ratings. They fall into the following broad areas:
	Contractor performance;
	User acceptance;
	Technical integration with other projects;
	The ability of emergency services to develop joint procedures to maximise the potential of the network;
	Sufficiency of network capacity;
	Operational continuity of legacy systems until rollout of the whole programme is complete, and
	continuity in consultancy support and capabilities.
	There are 130 project risks on the FiReControl Risk Register, of which some 6 per cent. are rated high or above. These risks are actively managed and mitigated in order to reduce their impact ratings. They fall into the following broad areas:
	Local/regional resource capacity/capability
	Strategic change/impacts
	Technical integration with other projects
	Contractor performance
	User acceptance.

Fires: Chemicals

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when her Department decided to consider whether to amend its guidance on the handling of fires involving oxyacetylene; what consultants have been employed on the matter; and when revised guidance will be published.

Parmjit Dhanda: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today (PQ175548).

Fires: Chemicals

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to amend guidance to fire authorities on the handling of fires involving oxyacetylene; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: There are no plans to amend the current guidance to fire authorities on the handling of fires involving acetylene.

Fires: Chemicals

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when her Department began recording fires involving oxyacetylene as fires of special interest; and how many such fires have been recorded.

Parmjit Dhanda: Communities and Local Government started to record reported incidents involving acetylene during March 2007, 30 incidents have been recorded to date.

Fires: Chemicals

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what research her Department has commissioned on the most effective ways of handling fires involving oxyacetylene.

Parmjit Dhanda: In February 2007, Communities and Local Government published a review of research carried out in investigating how acetylene cylinders involved in a fire are dealt with by fire services around the world and in identifying gaps in existing knowledge. This review is published on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/fire/safetyacetylene

Greater London Authority: Buildings

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the financial liability the public purse will bear for the cost of City Hall at the end of the 25 year lease signed by the then Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Government have not made any estimate of the financial liability the public purse will have for the cost of City Hall at the end of the 25 year lease. Responsibility for the City Hall lease was transferred from the Secretary of State to the Greater London Authority in 2004.

Green Belt: South East Region

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recommendations on  (a) review and  (b) removal of green belt designations have been made in the panel reports on the regional spatial strategies for the  (a) South East and  (b) East Midlands.

Parmjit Dhanda: A summary of the policies in the draft South East and East Midlands RSSs and Panel Reports relating to the reviews of green belts are as follows:
	 South East
	Policy CCl0a, states that the existing green belt in the region will be retained and supported and the opportunity should be taken to improve their land-use management and access as part of initiatives to improve urban rural fringe. If there are any cases for small scale local review, these can be pursued through LDF process.
	 East Midlands
	The panel report into the East Midlands regional spatial strategy, published on 28 November 2007 stated that the existing green belt which currently encircles Nottingham should be recast to protect only the area between Nottingham and Derby and therefore to remove areas north, east and south of Nottingham from the green belt. In reaching this conclusion the panel took into account the purposes and objectives of green belt in PPG2 and also the pressures for growth in and around the Nottingham conurbation.

Housing: Carbon Emissions

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what records her Department keeps of the number and location of zero carbon homes.

Iain Wright: The Government do not currently keep records of individual homes built to a zero carbon standard.
	However, the Government are committed to making it mandatory for all new homes to have a rating against the Code for Sustainable Homes. Once this comes into force all code certificates which are issued will be logged on a central database and will indicate where homes have achieved the zero carbon standards and the location of those homes. Access to and use of this data is subject to existing data protection safeguards.

Local Authorities: Standards

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what changes have been made to best value performance indicators in the last three years in relation to recording and measuring user satisfaction with local authorities.

John Healey: Within the set of best value performance indicators, there are currently 12 indicators that are used to measure resident and user satisfaction. There were no changes to these best value performance indicators between 2003 and 2006.

Local Authorities: Standards

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Electoral Commission's proposed 13 performance indicators for local authority electoral registration departments will be in addition to the new 198 performance indicators for local authorities.

John Healey: The 198 national indicators announced on 11 October will be the only ones against which central Government will require local government, working on its own or in partnership, to report. The Electoral Commission is independent of central Government and has statutory powers to set performance standards for electoral registration officers and has consulted on a number of possible indicators on electoral registration which would be in addition to the Government's 198 national indicators.
	The Government are committed to reducing the performance reporting and data collection burdens faced by local authorities. We will be working with the Electoral Commission as their proposals are developed and implemented to see how the exercise of the Commission's statutory powers could best be aligned with the Government's wider aims in this respect.

Local Authorities: Standards

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for publishing  (a) draft and  (b) final best value performance indicator data for each local authority for 2006-07.

John Healey: Each local authority is required to publish data on its performance against best value performance indicators (BVPIs) as part of its best value performance plan (BVPP). Outturn data for 2006-07 were included in 2007-08 BVPPs, which authorities were required to publish by 30 June 2007. BVPI data published in BVPPs are audited by the Audit Commission, which makes the final audited data available on its website. Audited data for 2006-07 were published at http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/performance/dataprovision.asp on 11 December 2007.

Local Government Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of local government revenue expenditure will be locally financed in  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09.

John Healey: In 2007-08, local authorities in England have planned to finance 25 per cent. of their revenue expenditure through council tax. Data for 2008-09 are not yet available.

Local Government Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which specific grants to local government will  (a) no longer be and  (b) remain ring fenced.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 1331-32W.
	The following specific revenue grants will remain ring fenced:
	AIDS Support
	Aiming High for Disabled Children
	Animal Health and Welfare Enforcement
	Basic Command Units
	Bus Challenge and Kickstart
	City Challenge
	Contact Point(1)
	Counter Terrorism
	Crime Fighting Fund
	Dedicated Schools Grant
	Early Years: Increasing Flexibility of Entitlement for 3-4 year olds
	eCommon Assessment Framework
	Ethnic Minority Achievement
	Extended Schools—Academic Focused Study Support
	Extended Schools—Subsidy
	Extended Schools—Sustainability
	Initial Police Learning and Development Programme
	Learning Disability Campus Closure Programme
	Making Good Progress
	Music Grant
	Neighbourhood Policing Fund and Community Support Officers
	Parenting Practitioner Grant
	Playing for Success
	School Development Grant
	School Lunch Grant
	Social Care Reform
	Supporting People(2)
	Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare
	Targeted Mental Health in Schools Grant
	Targeted Support for Primary and Secondary Strategy
	Urban Congestion
	Waste Management Pilots
	Youth Opportunity Fund
	(1 )The Department for Children, Schools and Families aim to include Contact Point in Area Based Grant from 2010-11. Area Based Grant is not ring fenced.
	(2) Communities and Local Government aim to include Supporting People programme grant in Area Based Grant from 2009-10, dependent on pilots in 2008-09 not raising serious concerns.

Local Government Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether councils with above-average collection rates for  (a) council tax and  (b) business rates receive additional revenue as a consequence.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1332W.

Local Government Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of the £5 billion of reduction in ring-fenced and specific grants by 2010-11 will be re-allocated to  (a) Revenue Support Grant and  (b) Area-Based Grant.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 December 2007,  Official Report, column 899W.

Milton Keynes Partnerships: Public Appointments

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) procedures and  (b) timetable are for the appointment of the new Chairman of Milton Keynes Partnerships.

Iain Wright: holding answer 7 January 2008
	The new independent chairman of the Milton Keynes Partnership will be appointed on merit following fair and open competition.
	Although the chairman is not one of the appointments that the Commissioner for Public Appointments regulates, the appointments procedure will follow the principles set out in the Commissioner's Code of Practice.
	The timetable to recruit a successor to the current chairman, Sir Bob Reid, will commence shortly and the aim is to have a new chairman in post by June 2008.

Neighbourhood Wardens: Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of the 210 local authorities which received central Government funding for community/neighbourhood wardens are still funding the warden schemes.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 12 December 2007,  Official Report, column 685W.

Neighbourhood Wardens: Young People

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how much funding is being provided to local authorities to run junior neighbourhood wardens in 2007-08;
	(2)  what guidance has been given to local authorities on setting up junior neighbourhood wardens schemes;
	(3)  what police and school records children must have in order to be eligible to become a junior neighbourhood warden;
	(4)  what the recommended minimum age is at which an individual can become a junior neighbourhood warden.

John Healey: Junior warden schemes have developed in some areas as part of existing neighbourhood warden initiatives.
	Funding for warden schemes has now been pooled within area based grants. Local authorities now have flexibility to spend these resources in whatever way they see fit to deliver their local area agreement outcomes. Information is not collected at the centre about the number and type of schemes that are being supported through area based grants.
	Communities and Local Government (CLG) has not issued specific guidance on how junior warden schemes should be set up and managed, however the action plan for community empowerment, which CLG published jointly with the Local Government Association in October 2007, included a case study of the Rochdale junior warden scheme, illustrating how young people can make a positive contribution to their communities.

Opinion Leader Research

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many contracts were awarded by her Department to Opinion Leader Research in each year since 1997; and in respect of each what was  (a) the title and purpose,  (b) the cost to the public purse and  (c) the date of (i) tender, (ii) award, (iii) operation and (iv) completion and report to the Department.

Hazel Blears: The Department's financial systems show that no contracts for projects have been entered into with Opinion Leader Research (OLR) since May 2002. Records prior to that could be recovered only at disproportionate cost.
	My Department recently arranged through the Central Office of Information (COI) for OLR to organise two citizens' juries, which took place on 10 and 11 December 2007 in London and Hull. This was a joint project between the Department for Communities and Local Government, and the Department for Innovation Universities and Skills. The purpose of the citizens' juries was to explore how the provision of English for Speakers of Other Languages can be focused to reach those areas and people in the greatest need, and how it can support community cohesion. The final cost, to be shared between the two Departments, will be about £78,000. COI went out to tender on 8 November 2007. OLR was selected as the preferred contractor on 16 November and awarded the contract on 30 November. OLR is due to make a final report at the end of January 2008.

Planning Permission: Public Buildings

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what planning applications her Department has submitted on requests for planning permission on its departmental properties in the last 12 months; for what buildings; and for what purpose.

Parmjit Dhanda: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 11 December 2007,  Official Report, column 554W.

Public Bodies: Data Protection

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what research her Department has  (a) undertaken and  (b) commissioned on the development of XML Schema for the sharing of data between public authorities.

Parmjit Dhanda: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 18 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1342W.

Regional Government: Ministers

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department is the lead department co-ordinating the work of regional Ministers.

Parmjit Dhanda: The network of regional Ministers operates under the joint chairmanship of the Secretaries of State for Communities and Local Government, and Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform; with officials from these departments providing a secretariat. The Network has regular meetings to discuss their work.

Regional Planning and Development: Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding her Department has provided to each of the Regional Centres of Excellence and Regional Improvement Partnerships.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1158W.

Regional Planning and Development: Standards

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) indicators and  (b) targets will be contained within each local area agreement; and whether these will be in addition to national indicators.

John Healey: A local area agreement can include any number of targets. A maximum of 35 targets will be negotiated with Government and become 'designated' by the Secretary of State. Designated targets will be subject to separate reporting requirements and different procedures should they need to be revised during the life of the LAA. The national indicators are not themselves included as part of the local area agreement, but each designated target will be set against one of the 198 national indicators.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agricultural Products: Exports

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what guidance is available to farmers on the rules on the export of agricultural products to  (a) EU and  (b) non-EU countries; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what guidance is available to farmers on the rules on the movement of livestock in restricted areas; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: A large amount of guidance for farmers on the export of agricultural products and livestock movements is available on the DEFRA website and from local animal health divisional offices.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what effect there was on the level of expenditure on single farm payments made by the Rural Payments Agency in 2006-07 from the resizing of fields.

Jonathan R Shaw: Payments are determined by the entitlements held by a customer which were based on the land area established and claimed in 2005. Therefore any increase in the size of a field would not change the expenditure unless the customer had sufficient entitlements to activate any claim on the increased area. During 2005 and 2006 the Rural Land Register was subject to a process of validation which in some cases resulted in field sizes changing. Where this impacted on individual claims, a process of reworking is under way, designed, where appropriate, to correct the land area and the number of entitlements established. Increase in land area may result in individual farmers being able to activate more entitlements. Effects on the level of expenditure of single payment scheme payments in 2006-07 cannot be determined until the evaluation of reworked cases, currently under way, is completed.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Rural Payments Agency on making faster single farm payments to farmers who have been affected by the recent flooding; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and my noble and right hon. Friend Lord Rooker have regular meetings the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) chief executive, during which they confirmed then their support for the significant efforts being made by the Agency, in relation to the 2007 Single Payment Scheme, to make more full payments, to more farmers, earlier than under the 2006 scheme. The announcement by RPA on 10 December, that live testing of the payments system was under way, is an encouraging sign that the Agency is on track to meet its formal targets of making 75 per cent. of full 2007 scheme payments, by value, by the end of March and 90 per cent. by end of May 2008.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how the amounts paid to farmers under the single farm payment scheme have been calculated; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The annual payments made to English farmers under the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) are based on the total value of the entitlements on which a valid claim is made, with adjustments then made to reflect the application of reductions such as modulation and penalties for breaches of eligibility or cross-compliance rules.
	The number of entitlements allocated to English farmers is in turn based on the number of eligible hectares that they declared on their application form under the 2005 SPS. The value of those entitlements under the 2005 scheme was calculated in two parts. First a flat rate per entitlement was established by dividing the total number of entitlements created in each English area into a sum representing 10 per cent. of the available funds. The remaining 90 per cent. of the available funds was then used to fund an individual reference amount for each farmer based on historic subsidy receipts. The value of each entitlement will be adjusted each year until 2012 to allocate a higher percentage of available funds to calculate the flat rate value. By 2012, the entire value of each entitlement will be based on a common flat rate amount in each area. Farmers may use the '2007 Entitlements Calculator' on the RPA website (www.rpa.gov.uk) to assist in the calculation of an approximate value of their entitlements for the 2007 scheme.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Government have paid in fines to the EU as a result of late payments made under the single farm payment scheme for 2005; what fines he expects the Government to have to make for late payments arising from 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA has included accruals totalling £63 million in its 2006-07 resource accounts in respect of late payment penalties imposed for SPS 2005, which has now been paid. A further £7 million was noted as a contingent liability in those resource accounts but no further amounts have been paid.
	There will be no late payment penalties for SPS2006 as the Rural Payments Agency met the EC target of making 96.154 per cent. of payments by 30 June 2007.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has made in administering the single farm payment scheme (SPS); and whether the RPA has cleared all the claims that needed to be revisited for SPS 2005 and 2006 where errors had been generated.

Jonathan R Shaw: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 18 December 2007,  Official Report, column 107WS.

Animal Welfare Act 2006

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) convictions and  (b) prosecutions there have been under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, broken down by offence; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Animal Welfare Act 2006 came into force in Wales on 27 March and in England on 6 April 2007. The figures for convictions and prosecutions for offences under the Act will not be available until the latter half of 2008.

Animal Welfare Act 2006

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to bring forward secondary legislation under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 on  (a) pet fairs,  (b) wild animals in circuses,  (c) cats,  (d) dogs,  (e) pet shops,  (f) game birds,  (g) animal boarding,  (h) tethering of horses,  (i) riding schools,  (j) livery yards,  (k) animal sanctuaries and  (l) performing animals; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: During the Animal Welfare Act's passage through Parliament it became clear that hon. Members and peers wanted to give priority to a number of issues on which a commitment had been given for secondary legislation and/or codes of practice. These were wild animal acts in circuses, the welfare of racing greyhounds, pet fairs, the keeping of gamebirds, cats and dogs and non-human primates as pets. We anticipate introducing regulations and codes for these during the next three years, although following the publication of the recent report into the use of wild animal acts in circuses, it is necessary to give further thought as to how this matter is taken forward.
	The Government remain committed to regulating animal boarding, livery yards, animal sanctuaries and performing animals as soon as possible subject to available resources.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 29 November 2007,  Official Report, column 610W.

Beef

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the UK's beef consumption was sourced from the UK in the most recent period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: In 2006 UK home-fed production of beef and veal accounted for 81 per cent. of the total new supply of beef and veal for use in the UK.

Birds: Imports

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the ban on wild bird imports on the illegal trade in wild birds.

Jonathan R Shaw: There is currently a lack of information to form an assessment of the effect of the ban on illegal trade and the livelihoods of those trappers involved in developing countries. DEFRA has let a research contract to address this, which is expected to report early in 2008.

Bluetongue Disease: Disease Control

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures are in place to prevent the insect-related spread of bluetongue.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA has been working in close partnership with the industry and stakeholders to develop the Bluetongue Control Strategy and has jointly been involved in raising awareness of this disease. It is our main objective to minimise the economic impact and spread of the disease.
	The control measures set out in the Bluetongue Control Strategy are aimed at minimising disease spread. Movement of susceptible animals out of the control zones are banned except under licence (although animals can move freely within these zones).
	DEFRA currently funds an extensive programme of research on bluetongue (including work on serotype 8) that supports disease control policies. This includes researching vector mitigation measures which may help protect animals against midges biting.
	More information and guidance can be found on the DEFRA website, which is regularly updated with the latest developments and progress.

Canals: Expenditure

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the  (a) economic and  (b) other effects of public spending on canals with particular reference to effects on (i) regeneration, (ii) flood management and (iii) tourism and leisure.

Phil Woolas: We fully recognise the economic, environmental and social benefits of the inland waterways and the role they can play in supporting Government objectives in health, recreation, regeneration, social inclusion, conservation of heritage and the environment. British Waterways has been involved in over 2 billion worth of urban and rural regeneration over the last decade and a further 7 billion of waterside regeneration is under way. Its canals also contribute to flood mitigation. In terms of tourism and leisure use, there were 268 million visits to British Waterways last year by boaters, anglers, cyclists and walkers.
	DEFRA is working with British Waterways to agree a sustainable and affordable strategy for the waterways while maximising public benefits from the resources available.

Combined Heat and Power

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what feasibility studies have been carried out on potential growth of combined heat and power plants.

Phil Woolas: A number of studies have been carried out on potential growth of combined heat and power plants in the UK. The most recent is the Analysis of the National Potential for High-efficiency Cogeneration which was prepared by AEA Technology to allow my Department to meet the reporting requirements of the EU cogeneration directive. This study is available on the DEFRA website.

Dangerous Dogs Act 1991

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 700-1W, on the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, how many attacks on people there were by dogs designated as dangerous under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in each year since 1997 in London.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 18 December 2007
	I refer the hon. Member to table 2, 12 December 2007,  Official Report, column 701W, citing the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts in Greater London for offences under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in each year from 1997 to 2006. We do not hold information on whether the dogs involved were held in contravention of the law.

Departmental Manpower

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) men and  (b) women are employed by his Department, broken down by civil service grade.

Jonathan R Shaw: The latest published information on the gender breakdown of civil servants by Department is as at 30 September 2006 and is available in tables H at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/2006CivilServiceStatistics.pdf
	and
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/CivilService2006TablesandCharts.xls

Departmental Parliamentary Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff work in his Department's parliamentary branch; and what proportion of their time is spent on dealing with  (a) parliamentary questions and  (b) correspondence from hon. Members and Peers.

Jonathan R Shaw: There are eight members of staff in parliamentary branch, two of whom work solely on parliamentary questions.
	Correspondence from hon. Members and peers is handled by the Department's customer contact unit.

Departmental Pay

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people in his Department and its predecessors earned a salary over 100,000 in each year since 1997.

Jonathan R Shaw: Details of the number of people in the Department who have been paid a salary of 100,000 or more, since 2002, are given in the following table. Data prior to 2002 are not centrally held and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The information covers people in core-DEFRA and the following DEFRA Executive Agencies: Animal Health, Pesticides Safety Directorate, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Marine Fisheries Agency, Government Decontamination Service, Rural Payments Agency, Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Central Science Laboratory and Centre for the Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science.
	
		
			   Number of  p eople paid 100,000 or more 
			 2002 8 
			 2003 10 
			 2004 12 
			 2005 19 
			 2006 20 
			 2007 25

Departmental Public Expenditure

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what budget was planned for his Department in 2007-08; how much his Department has spent in the year to date; and what the projected expenditure outturn for the year is.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 17 December 2007
	DEFRA's budget (resource and capital DEL less depreciation) for 2007-08 is 3,617 million. It is for Ministers and the Department to manage its affairs during the year and to report on outturn to Parliament. The Department is currently addressing those pressures arising from the summer floods (30 million) and the animal disease outbreaks (35 million). However, action is being taken by the Department to manage down these cost pressures.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many full-time equivalent staff are responsible for brand management and marketing in his Department and its agencies.

Jonathan R Shaw: Within the Communications Directorate in core DEFRA there are 17 full-time members of staff involved in the management of corporate branding and marketing. This includes work undertaken on:
	The Act on CO2 campaignwhich includes the Climate Change, the Act on CO2 calculator, the Climate Change Champions, events, Waste and Sustainable Consumption and Production.
	Food and Farmingwhich covers the Year of Food and Farming, Food partnerships, Farming Link, Animal Welfare, agricultural shows and events, animal disease prevention and personal food imports.
	Natural Environmentwhich covers Biodiversity, Marine and Fisheries, Rural Affairs as well as land and water use.
	Individual records of staff for DEFRA'S non-departmental public bodies, agencies and financially sponsored organisations are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Publicity

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been spent by his Department on advertising in the last 12 months.

Jonathan R Shaw: For the financial year 2006-07, core DEFRA spent 568,728 on advertising.

Departmental Recycling

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what  (a) volume and  (b) percentage of its waste his Department recycled in each of the last five years.

Phil Woolas: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) can confirm that his Department recycled the following amounts of waste in each of the last five years.
	
		
			   Waste Recovered (tonnes)  Percentage Waste Recovered 
			 2002-03 1,021 46 
			 2003-04 2,560 55 
			 2004-05 2,210 52 
			 2005-06 2,429 47 
			 2006-07 2,891 55 
		
	
	These figures represent waste that is recovered, which includes recycled, composted, reused or incinerated with energy recovery.
	DEFRA has already exceeded the 2010 target of recycling 40 per cent. of waste and is on course to recycle 75 per cent. of all waste by 2020.

Environmental Information Regulations Provisions

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance his Department produced on whether environmental information regulations provisions apply to regional chambers.

Joan Ruddock: Regional chambers are not specifically mentioned in our current detailed guidance on the environmental information regulations (EIRs) (www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/opengov/eir/guidance/full-guidance/pdf/guidance-2.pdf) but this does make clear that all bodies which carry out functions of public administration and bodies that are under the control of a public authority and have responsibilities, exercise functions or provide public services relating to the environment are covered by the regulations. The guidance also explains that bodies can seek more detailed advice on the interpretation of the regulations from the DEFRA telephone helpline and a central e-mail address, though the final determination of the extent to which they are covered would be for the Information Commissioner and the Information Tribunal to decide.

Exhaust Emissions: Transport

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he has taken to encourage the European Commission to include carbon emissions from transport under the evaluative criteria for the European eco-label; and if he will encourage the Commission to promote water-borne freight as a means of cutting these emissions.

Joan Ruddock: The Government want to see reliable methods established for measuring the greenhouse gas emissions embodied in products (from the extraction, transport and processing of raw materials right through to the finished product) and we are actively supporting work by the British Standards Institution to enable this. The European Commission is also running a study on how carbon emissions embodied in products can be better reflected in future criteria under the EU ecolabelling scheme. Officials in my Department have had positive discussions with their counterparts in the Commission about the development of suitable methods for measuring these embodied emissions and the scope for wider improvements to the ecolabelling scheme to help focus on the key life-cycle impacts of particular types of product.

Farms: Utilities

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what obligation there is on utility companies to observe cross-compliance regulations when entering farm land; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 17 December 2007
	Domestic legislation in England (SI 2005 No. 3459) provides for a claimant to be exempted from a cross compliance standard where the laying, construction or maintenance of a pipeline, cable or pylon under statutory authority is incompatible with meeting the standard (paragraph 4 (3 )(a) and (b)). Ordinarily, if a claimant thinks such work might be incompatible with meeting a standard, in advance of the work being carried out, they should approach the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) for an exemption. This should safeguard the position of both the statutory undertaker and the claimant.
	There will be emergency situations where such advance requests are not possible. In such circumstances, if a claimant finds the work was incompatible with a standard, they would be advised to write to RPA to safeguard their position.

Fisheries: Navy

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason the number of patrol days carried out by the Hunt class inshore patrol vessels, Island class offshore patrol vessels and River class offshore patrol vessels for the 2006-07 period stated in the answer of 10 December 2007,  Official Report, column 61W, on Fisheries: Navy, were different to those stated in the answer of 22 November 2007,  Official Report, column 1058W.

Jonathan R Shaw: The answers of 22 November and 10 December both stated that the total number of patrol days carried out by patrol vessels of the Fishery Protection Squadron in 2006-07 was 845 days.
	The answer on 10 December on behalf of the Secretary of State for Defence recorded 227 days by Island class vessels and 618 days by River class vessels. This should have read 227 days by Hunt class vessels.
	The answer on 22 November on behalf of the Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs recorded 225 days by Hunt class vessels and 620 days by River class vessels.
	The difference in allocation of two days by the two departments resulted from a minor correction to records as a product of staff changes.
	The minor statistical difference between departments has no impact on the payment or the performance of the Fisheries Protection Squadron during that period.

Fisheries: Navy

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 22 November 2007,  Official Report, column 1058W, on Fisheries: Navy, whether the unused contracted Royal Navy Fishery Protection Squadron patrol days may be  (a) carried over to future years and  (b) refunded to his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Unused patrol days cannot be carried over from one year to the next.

Fisheries: Protection

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 11 December 2007,  Official Report, column 409W, on Fisheries: Protection, 
	(1)  whether the Ministry of Defence provides replacement vessels in the event of a Davit fault; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  under what circumstances the Ministry of Defence would provide replacement vessels; what his definition is of extended time off task; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  for how many patrol days a River class offshore patrol vessel would need to be unavailable for the Ministry of Defence to provide a replacement; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: There is no specific requirement for the Ministry of Defence to provide a replacement patrol vessel in the event of a Davit fault. It is difficult to be precise as to how many patrol days would need to be missed before a replacement vessel could be provided. Provision of a replacement vessel will depend on a number of operational factors including:
	(i) the time that a River class vessel is off task or unable to undertake full operational duties;
	(ii) the availability of a suitable replacement ship and crew with British Sea Fisheries Officers on board; and
	(iii) the importance operationally at the time of having full fisheries patrol capability available.
	Time off task is regarded as any time when the patrol vessel is not undertaking patrol activity at sea either because of routine stand-off or for other reasons, for example, technical problems.

Fisheries: Protection

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 23 July 2007,  Official Report, columns 649-59W on Fisheries: Protection, whether the annual cost of the new contract with the Royal Navy Fishery Protection Squadron, beginning on 1 April 2008, will vary depending on the number of patrol days contracted in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The annual cost will depend on the number of patrol days delivered to the Marine and Fisheries Agency by the Royal Navy, the platform daily rate and an annual review of the daily rate.

Fixed Penalties: Greater London

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fixed penalty notices were  (a) issued,  (b) cancelled,  (c) unpaid after 28 days,  (d) unpaid and resulting in court action and  (e) unpaid and resulting in no further action to date for (i) nuisance parking, (ii) abandoned vehicles, (iii) litter, (iv) street litter control, (v) litter clearance notices, (vi) graffiti, (vii) fly-tipping, (viii) inappropriate use of waste, (ix) dog fouling, (x) noise during the day, (xi) inappropriate disposal of chewing gum and (xii) noise at night in each London borough in each year since 1998.

Jonathan R Shaw: Tables containing the number of fixed penalty notices issued in each London borough in each year since 1998 are available on the DEFRA website. I have arranged for copies of the tables to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	I am unable to say how many notices were unpaid after 28 days as DEFRA does not collect the information at that level of detail.

Flood Control

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on implementing  (a) a more holistic approach,  (b) better management of risk,  (c) land use planning,  (d) integrated urban drainage management and  (e) addressing coastal issues, as set out in Making Space for Water; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Environment Agency has strategic overview of all flood and coastal erosion risk management. The coastal role has been announced and the role for inland flooding is being developed.
	A range of projects ensure better management of risk, including improving and extending risk mapping and broadening approaches to risk management beyond the provision of defences.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) published Planning Policy Statement 25, (Development and Flood Risk) in 2006. The Environment Agency became a statutory consultee on planning applications where flood risk is an issue and the Secretary of State for CLG can call in applications where the planning authority is minded to approve an application against sustained Environment Agency objections.
	DEFRA will review approaches to urban drainage as part of its new water strategy. This will take account of the independent Pitt review of the summer flooding and the 15 integrated urban drainage pilot studies taking place around the country.
	Further work is also taking place in developing tools to help coastal and other communities adapt to the challenges of climate change.

Flood Control

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department provides guidance to local authorities on standards of flood proofing for private properties; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Government provide guidance to local authorities, among others, on standards of flood-proofing for private properties. Details are available via the DEFRA website and the planning portal.

Flood Control

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the lowest economic rate of return is for an approved flood defence project; and how many unapproved projects for which calculations had been made the projected rate of return was equal to or higher than that figure.

Phil Woolas: The lowest ratio of economic benefits to cost for ongoing projects (excluding those exempt from prioritisation due to legal or other requirements) is 6.3. Medium term plan returns for all flood management operating authorities have recently been collated by the Environment Agency and these include 39 projects with a benefit to cost ratio in excess of this not currently approved for funding. It should be noted that the benefit cost ratio is only one of the issues considered in prioritising projects for funding and that the medium term plan includes projects in different stages of development, intended for funding up to 10 years into the future.

FloodRanger: Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding has been provided by his Department for the development of FloodRanger by Discovery Software.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 10 December 2007,  Official Report, column 31W.

Floods: Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what requests the Environment Agency has made to local authorities to increase the council tax precept to pay for increased flood defences in the 2008-09 financial year.

Phil Woolas: Grant in aid from DEFRA funds the majority of the Environment Agency's flood risk management activities (436 million in 2007-08). The Agency may raise additional sums through levies on local authorities. These are set by Regional Flood Defence Committees (RFDCs) on which local authorities have a majority. Around 25 million is raised in levies nationally each year and they are used to fund locally important projects which do not have sufficient priority to be funded via DEFRA grant in aid. These levies are supported by the local government funding mechanisms operated by Communities and Local Government.
	Levies are set by RFDCs in January each year and, while decisions have yet to be taken on their levels for 2008-09, the Environment Agency anticipates that the increase in local levies nationally for 2008-09 may be around 2.5 per cent., raising an additional 0.6 million.

Floods: Sewers

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the effect of combined sewers on flooding; and what estimate his Department has made of the cost of  (a) removing and  (b) phasing out combined sewers.

Phil Woolas: The Government's Foresight (2004) 'Future Flooding' report estimated that currently 80,000 properties are at very high risk from surface water flooding (10 per cent. annual chance), causing on average 270 million of damage each year.
	Water and sewerage companies have a statutory duty under section 94 of the Water industry Act 1991 to ensure that their area is effectually drained. The water industry sponsors research on a range of projects related to sewerage systems and the organisation, UK Water Industry Research is, I understand, undertaking one specifically exploring the cost benefit of separating surface water.

Floods: Thames Gateway

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  which areas in the designated Thames Gateway area are classified as flood plains;
	(2)  what percentage of land in the Thames Gateway area is flood plain;
	(3)  how many houses in the Thames Gateway area are expected to be built on a flood plain.

Phil Woolas: The Thames Gateway regeneration zone runs alongside the Thames and Medway estuaries. A map showing the floodplain has been placed in the Library of the House.
	Around 35 per cent. of the Thames Gateway lies within the tidal and fluvial floodplain. The standard of protection afforded by the defences to protect against tidal flooding in the main estuary is higher than anywhere else in the country. There are over 300 kilometres of defences and eight major tidal barriers which include the Thames barrier.
	The Thames Gateway delivery plan has proposed 160,000 new homes for the Thames Gateway by 2016 but it does not dictate their exact location.

Fly-tipping

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library the data from Flycapture for the  (a) number of fly-tipping incidents and  (b) proportion of incidents which involved household waste in each local authority in England in (i) 2004-05, (ii) 2005-06 and (iii) 2006-07.

Joan Ruddock: I am arranging for the information requested to be placed in the House Library.

Foot and Mouth Disease: Compensation

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how compensation related to foot and mouth disease has been distributed; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what compensation is available to farmers who lose livestock due to foot and mouth where the cause of the outbreak has been traced to leaks from the Pirbright centre; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Animal Health Act 1981 and Human Rights legislation requires that compensation is paid for animals compulsorily culled and property confiscated and subsequently destroyed to prevent the spread of disease. It requires that for foot and mouth disease (FMD), compensation is paid for all animals compulsorily slaughtered at the market value before the animal became infected. The farmers whose animals were culled have all received compensation on this basis.

Greenbelt

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proposals Natural England have made to remove or change green belt protection.

Jonathan R Shaw: Natural England has made no proposals to remove or change green belt protection.

Heathrow Airport: Noise

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether  (a) BAA,  (b) Department for Transport officials,  (c) Department of Transport Ministers and  (d) other non-departmental staff were involved in the production of Putting noise on the map, airport maps relating to Heathrow airport published on 18 December 2007; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether any of his Departmental staff who were involved in preparing the Putting noise on the map airport noise maps published by his Department on 18 December 2007, contributed to the Project for Sustainable Development of Heathrow within the Department for Transport; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 7 January 2008
	The noise maps published on 18 December were produced by the operators of non-designated airports and by the Civil Aviation Authority for airports designated under section 78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982. They were approved by DEFRA to ensure compliance with the Environmental Noise Directive. No DEFRA staff contributed to the Project for Sustainable Development of Heathrow.

Heathrow Airport: Noise

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what meetings his Department had with the Department for Transport on the outcome of the Putting noise on the map airport noise maps published by his Department on 18 January 2007, prior to the Government's launch of the Adding Capacity at Heathrow public consultation; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 7 January 2008
	The Department for Transport is represented on the DEFRA Programme Board that oversees the implementation of the European Environmental Noise Directive (END) 2002/49 EC in England. The Programme Board meets regularly to monitor progress with noise mapping for major roads, rail, airports and major agglomerations.
	The consultation document on Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport drew attention to the requirements of the END directive for major airports to produce strategic noise maps. Given that Heathrow is a designated airport under section 78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982, the noise map for Heathrow was produced by the Civil Aviation Authority not the airport operator.

Livestock: Disease Control

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with trading standards departments on the movement of livestock in restricted areas; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Throughout the recent animal disease outbreaks, DEFRA has worked closely with the Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS), which represents trading standards officers in local authorities. Trading Standards are updated on changes to movement restrictions by LACORS, which is a key operational partner that always participates actively in the National Disease Control Centre. They have been closely involved in changes to the movement regimes and have advised DEFRA on enforcement and licensing regimes.

Livestock: Transport

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance he has issued on legislative requirements for farmers who wish to move livestock by road to take a written test on the welfare of animals during transport; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Council Regulation (EC) No. 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport and related operations came into force in January 2007. It is implemented in the UK by The Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006 and parallel legislation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The regulation requires that by 5 January 2008 those that transport cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses and poultry by road on journeys over 65 km in connection with an economic activity must have passed an examination (set by independent examiners) on their competence.

Livestock: Transport

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the  (a) implementation and  (b) enforcement of EC legislation on the welfare of animals during transport in EU member states;
	(2)  what assessments were made of the likely effects of the requirement for a written test on the welfare of animals during transport prior to its introduction; what the findings were of such assessments; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what criteria he has established to assess the contribution of the written test on the welfare of animals to  (a) animal welfare and  (b) road safety; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: In 2006, DEFRA conducted a public consultation on proposals for the implementation of Regulation 1/2005 in England (with the devolved Administrations conducting similar consultations in their territories). This was sent to over 1,400 interested organisations, key stakeholders and individuals and published on our website. For competence assessment, DEFRA proposed that assessment for short journeys under eight hours would be by means of a theory test with assessment for journeys over eight hours having an additional practical element for demonstration of animal handling and driving skills. None of the consultation responses necessitated deviation from the broad principles outlined. Consultation findings were sent to those who had responded and posted on our website.
	The regulation's provisions relating to competence testing and certification do not come into effect until January 2008 and so it would be premature to conduct an assessment of the regulation at this stage. However, the regulation includes a provision for a Europe-wide review on its impact on the welfare of animals during transport in 2011. Early indications are that this is likely to be brought forward to 2009.

Livestock: Transport

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward proposals to exempt experienced drivers from the requirement to take a written test on the welfare of animals during transport; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: There are no proposals to exempt experienced drivers from the requirement to have their competence assessed. Such an exemption would be contrary to the requirements of Regulation 1/2005.

Livestock: Wales

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on the movement to Wales of livestock ordinarily pastured on Welsh farms but temporarily pastured in the Shropshire bluetongue protection zone; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA has worked closely with the Welsh Assembly Government and has had a range of discussions on this and a number of other issues concerning bluetongue.
	It may be possible during a vector free period, should that be declared, to move animals out of the zone following pre-movement tests, at the farmers' expense.
	The issue of whether to extend the bluetongue surveillance zone into Wales to enable free movement across the border is a devolved matter for the Welsh Assembly Government, but we are working closely to co-ordinate our disease control strategy to prevent the spread of bluetongue.

Nitrate Sensitive Areas

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the agricultural industry of the nitrate vulnerable zone consultation;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the  (a) financial costs and  (b) environmental costs of proposals arising from the nitrate vulnerable zone consultation; and what assessment he has made of the compatibility of those proposals with other schemes to establish wintered cover crops.

Phil Woolas: The regulatory impact assessment (RIA) published in support of the consultation on the implementation of the nitrates directive in England sets out my Department's assessment of the likely financial and environmental impacts of the proposed action programme measures.
	The partial RIA estimates that the likely financial impact on agriculture of implementing the proposed measures would be within the range of 52.8 million to 105.5 million per year. This assumes that the action programme is applied within proposed nitrate vulnerable zones covering 70 per cent. of England, and costs would be higher if the decision is taken to apply the action programme to the whole of England. These costs could be reduced if DEFRA is successful in obtaining a derogation from the 170kgN/ha/yr whole farm limit for livestock manuresone of the more burdensome requirements of the proposals.
	Estimates of the impact of the main measures on losses of pollutants from agriculture are provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Percentage change in pollutant losses 
			 Nitrate -5.5 to -15.5 
			 Phosphorus 0 to -4.5 
			 Ammonia 0.2 to 2.0 
		
	
	This assessment does not cover all the action programme measures, and therefore the anticipated reduction in nitrate and phosphorus is expected to be greater.
	My Department is aware of links between the proposed cover crops measure and the maintenance of overwintered stubbles, as required by some environmental stewardship agreements. Officials are working with stakeholders to ensure that implementation of this measure is compatible with the requirements of existing agreements.

Nitrate Sensitive Areas

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what basis areas are to be selected for inclusion in the nitrate vulnerable zone designations.

Phil Woolas: The nitrates directive requires all known areas of land to be designated as nitrate vulnerable zones (NVZs) if they drain to:
	surface freshwaters or groundwaters which contain or could contain, if preventative action is not taken, nitrate concentrations greater than 50mg/l; or
	natural freshwater lakes, or other freshwater bodies, estuaries, coastal waters and marine waters which are eutrophic or may become so in the near future if protective action is not taken.
	The document 'G1Summary of methodology for identifying NVZs 2006', which is available on the DEFRA website, provides a description of how water quality monitoring data, collected by the Environment Agency from a network of monitoring points and boreholes, are assessed against the above criteria to identify nitrate-polluted waters, and how areas of land draining to these waters were identified for designation as NVZs.

Nitrate Sensitive Areas

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether Government grants will be available to meet the costs of implementation of proposals arising from the nitrate vulnerable zone consultation, with particular reference to winter slurry storage.

Phil Woolas: No new central Government money will be made available to assist farmers with the costs of constructing any new or additional manure storage capacity required under the proposed action programme. This position was set out in the public consultation on the implementation of the nitrates directive in England.

Nitrate Sensitive Areas

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the effect of ammonia emissions into the atmosphere from the additional winter slurry storage likely to result from proposals arising from the nitrate vulnerable zone consultation.

Phil Woolas: The regulatory impact assessment and paper 'D5Impact of the proposed NVZ Action Programme measures', published in support of the consultation on implementation of the nitrates directive in England, provide details of my Department's assessment of the likely environmental impact of the proposed measures. This is available on the DEFRA website.
	It is estimated that the closed period for organic manure, which requires the storage of slurry over the autumn and winter, would increase ammonia emissions from agriculture by between 0.5 per cent. and 2 per cent. However, this is likely to be an overestimate as the assessment did not reflect the impacts of all the proposed action programme measures, some of which are expected to reduce ammonia emissions (for example, the incorporation of manure within 24 hours of application).

Nitrate Sensitive Areas

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the possible loss of habitat of overwintered stubbles as a result of proposals arising from the nitrate vulnerable zone consultation.

Phil Woolas: The regulatory impact assessment, published in support of the consultation on the implementation of the nitrates directive in England, sets out my Department's assessment of the likely environmental impact of proposed Action Programme measures.
	It is likely that one of the principal benefits of the proposed Action Programme would be improved natural habitats due to a reduction in the nutrient enrichment of waters and associated eutrophication.
	My Department is aware of links between the proposed cover crops measure and the maintenance of over-wintered stubbles. Officials are working with stakeholders to ensure that implementation of this measure does not lead to the loss of habitat.

Nitrate Sensitive Areas

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of proposals arising from the nitrate vulnerable zone consultation on organic farms.

Phil Woolas: The partial regulatory impact assessment and paper 'G4 Assistance on the partial RIA including extended Nitrate Vulnerable Zones', published in support of the consultation on implementation of the nitrates directive in England, provide details of my Department's assessment of the likely cost to all farmers of the proposed nitrates action programme measures. This document is available on the DEFRA website.

Nitrate Sensitive Areas

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he has taken to ensure that no additional requirement over and above those in the EU directive is being made in relation to proposals arising from the nitrate vulnerable zone consultation.

Phil Woolas: The proposed action programme measures, as set out in our consultation on the implementation of the nitrates directive in England, represent what my Department considers as the best way to fulfil our obligations under the nitrates directive while maintaining a sustainable agricultural industry. The measures were developed to reflect good agricultural practice and the best available science.

Nitrate Sensitive Areas

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice the Government have received from the Environment Agency on the proposed nitrate vulnerable zones directive.

Phil Woolas: holding  answer 7 January 2008
	The Environment Agency is the competent authority for the enforcement of the action programme established in England under the nitrates directive. The Environment Agency also advises the Government on technical and scientific issues regarding water quality and how this affects the designation of nitrate vulnerable zones.
	The Environment Agency responded fully to DEFRA's recent consultation on proposals to implement the nitrates directive in England. The response is available to view on their website.

Produce Prices

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the trend in chicken  (a) meat and  (b) feed prices in the UK; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the trend in grain prices in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The increase in UK grain prices reflects the rise in global wheat prices following two successive smaller world harvests and increasing demand for cereals for food, feed and fuel purposes. Current high grain prices, combined with policy changes such as the removal of the set-aside requirement for the 2008 harvest, will undoubtedly stimulate production and lead to a moderation of prices, but it may take a number of years to rebuild stocks to levels that markets are comfortable with, and periods of price volatility are likely to occur for the foreseeable future.
	In the poultry (and pig) sectors, feed costs, and by implication, total production costs, are largely determined by world prices for cereals, oilseeds and other commodities (recognising that there is some limited scope to reformulate feed in response to relative price movements to reduce costs). The latest set of animal feed statistics contains details of the price of poultry feed up to June 2007 and can be found at:
	http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/statnot/mcompspn.pdf
	Estimates of poultry feed costs through to September 2007, which will cover the period of significantly rising grain prices, are due to be published on 17 January 2008.
	Weekly wholesale prices for poultry can be found at:
	http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/publications/amr/poultry_eggs.xls
	but it should be recognised that these represent only a small proportion of the overall market.
	A fuller and wider assessment of the rise in commodity prices can be found in our report Implications of rising agricultural commodity prices published at the end of September which can be found at:
	http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/publications/monthly%20brief/Annex%201%20Food%20and%20farming%20brief%20-%20impact%20of%20high%20commodity%20prices.pdf.
	The first full set of farm income statistics, including an estimate of the income for specialist poultry farms, will be published at the end of January 2008.

Rural Payments Agency: Redundancy

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost has been of recent redundancies made by the Rural Payments Agency; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 17 December 2007
	No compulsory redundancies have been made in the Rural Payments Agency since its creation in 2001. However the cost of the voluntary exit of staff during the Agency's recent Change Programme ending in 2006 has been 38.9 million.

Severn Estuary: Nature Conservation

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Severn estuary was notified to the European Commission as a candidate special area of conservation as defined under the Habitats Directive; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: The Severn estuary was notified to the European Commission as a candidate special area of conservation, as defined under the habitats directive, on 31 August 2007.

Telephone Services

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information his Department has collected on the number of calls  (a) received,  (b) answered and  (c) abandoned to phonelines operated by his Department and its agencies, broken down by subject matter of call.

Jonathan R Shaw: Calls to RPA helplines can be split into two categories, single payment scheme (SPS) and animal traceability inquiries. They generally cover the following subject matter.
	 SPS
	SPScalls relating to farmers entitlement and claim for the scheme.
	RLEgeneral advice on completing the RLE 1 form.
	RLRguidance on mapping queries.
	Rural Stressused by RPA staff and rural support groups when they want to make a referral.
	Counterfraudused by staff and public when they suspect that fraud is taking place.
	 Animal traceability
	BCMS helpdeskEnglish and Welsh calls relating to the cattle tracing system.
	Livestock IDinquiries about identification of sheep, pigs and goats.
	ETASused by ear tag manufacturers to log details of all orders processed and despatched to keepers.
	WFAprovides an integrated access point to DEFRA and related agencies with the aim of helping to take the paperwork out of farming.
	TSEregisters on-farm dead animals to be collected from the farm, brain-stem sampled and disposed of at a registered disposal site.
	NFSSregisters farmers as members onto the national fallen stock scheme.
	Details of calls received, answered and abandoned are detailed as follows.
	
		
			   Calls received  Calls answered  Calls Abandoned 
			 BCMS English 255,706 251,183 4,261 
			 BCMS Welsh 10,805 10,225 497 
			 Livestock ID 1,549 1,492 45 
			 ETAS 7,275 6,840 161 
			 TSE 260,883 247,110 13,426 
			 TSE Sheep(1) 1,894 1,833 37 
			 TSE Collectors 5,243 5,111 104 
			 WFA 8,265 7,568 637 
			 NFSS 20,037 19,295 676 
			 NFSS Collectors 3,908 3,789 107 
			 RLE(2) 10,736 10,715 35 
			 RLR 29,700 28,808 892 
			 SPS 214,051 206,505 7,541 
			 Rural Stress 488 437 51 
			 Counterfraud 324 284 40 
			 Total 830,864 801,195 28,510 
			 Percentage abandoned   3.43 
			 (1 )TSE Sheep helpline went live on 9 October 2007. (2 )RLE calls diverted to the SPS helpline in September 2007.  Notes: 1. Figures provided are between 10 December 2006 and 9 December 2007. 2. Please note calls abandoned in the first 10 seconds are not counted in the abandoned total.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether individuals on council tax benefit are expected to receive a full exemption from the proposed new charges for domestic rubbish collections.

Joan Ruddock: As stated in the Climate Change Bill, local authorities which pilot a waste incentive scheme must take account of disadvantaged groups.
	It will be the responsibility of each local authority to decide whether individuals receiving council tax benefit (or any other groups) should be treated differently under a waste incentive scheme and, if so, how. My Department will work with stakeholders to develop guidance on this issue.

Wellbeing Indicators Group

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what work the Wellbeing Indicators Group has undertaken;
	(2)  whether the Wellbeing Indicators Group has  (a) a business plan and  (b) objectives;
	(3)  what the  (a) titles and  (b) qualifications are of the academics on the Wellbeing Indicators Group;
	(4)  what role the Wellbeing Indicators Group has in the formulation of Government policy; what cross-departmental representation the group has; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  how many  (a) staff and  (b) members the Wellbeing Indicators Group has;
	(6)  what the budget of the Wellbeing Indicators Group has been in each year since its inception; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Wellbeing Indicators Group has provided technical advice and co-ordination on the establishment of measures of wellbeing for inclusion in the UK Government's sustainable development indicators, as committed to in the UK Government's Sustainable Development Strategy (2005) and in the UK Framework for Sustainable Development shared with the devolved Administrations.
	The Wellbeing Indicators Group has agreed terms of reference.
	Academic representatives on the Wellbeing Indicators Group are currently:
	Tim JacksonProfessor of Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey; and also sits on the Sustainable Development Commission;
	Paul DolanProfessor of Economics at Imperial College, University of London;
	Nic Marks MSc, MAFounder of the Centre for Wellbeing at the New Economics Foundation.
	The Wellbeing Indicators Group does not advise on policy formulation; its role is to advise on how well-being might be measured. Information on the use of indicators and concepts of well-being in policy can be found on the Government's Sustainable development website:
	www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/what/priority/wellbeing/index.htm
	The following central Government Departments and administrations have been represented in the Wellbeing Indicators Group:
	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs;
	Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform;
	Department for Children, Schools and Families;
	Department for Communities and Local Government;
	Department for Culture, Media and Sport;
	Department for Health;
	Home Office;
	Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills;
	Department for Transport;
	Department for Work and Pensions;
	Office of National Statistics;
	Scottish Government;
	Welsh Assembly Government;
	Northern Ireland Assembly.
	DEFRA chairs and provides the secretariat for the Wellbeing Indicators Group, which principally involves two members of staff and accounts for only a small proportion of the time of each. There are around 25 individuals attending meetings or receiving papers.
	The Wellbeing Indicators Group does not have its own budget allocation and cannot incur expenditure. The group's inception was in December 2006 and it has met five times.

Whales: Japan

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he last met the Japanese ambassador to discuss the Japanese whaling fleet's intention to kill 935 minke whales, 50 fin whales and 50 humpback whales.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 18 December 2007
	I will shortly meet Japanese embassy officials to express the UK's outrage over Japan's plans to kill endangered whales in the Antarctic. I have had no recent discussions with the Japanese ambassador on this issue.
	The UK has consistently criticised Japan for her lethal whaling operations that are authorised under special permits (so called scientific whaling) and urged Japan to end its scientific whaling activities.
	We are considering a high level diplomatic protest to the Japanese Government, following consultation with like-minded anti-whaling countries.

Whales: Romania

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has had discussions with the Romanian Prime Minister on Romania's possible membership of the International Whaling Commission; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: There have been no recent discussions with the Romanian Prime Minster on this issue. British embassies abroad will shortly deliver an updated version of the UK publication 'Protecting WhalesA Global Responsibility', endorsed by the Prime Minister and Sir David Attenborough, to all EU countries, which are not current members of the International Whaling Commission. This is to encourage them to join the effort to protect all cetacean species.
	UK embassies and Ministers across Government will continue to lobby nations on this issue in the run-up to the next annual meeting of the IWC in Chile in June 2008.

Wind Power: Planning

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what responsibility the proposed Marine Management Organisation will have over planning consents for offshore wind turbines; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The proposed Marine Management Organisation (MMO) would make development consent decisions, where the UK Government have responsibility, for offshore renewable energy projects capable of generating 100 megawatts or less of power.
	The proposed Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) would determine applications for development consent for offshore renewable energy projects capable of generating more than 100 megawatts of power. The MMO will advise the IPC on these projects, including on conditions on developments, and will also monitor and enforce compliance.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what provision for wind farms he expects will be made in the draft Marine Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The draft Marine Bill will make specific provisions to streamline marine consents for renewable energy as set out in the Marine Bill White Paper. It will also provide a framework that will allow translation of Government policies and priorities, including, for instance, those on climate change and renewable energy generation, into decisions on marine development and protection.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Adoption

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many adoptions took place in each year since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: Statistical information on the total number of adoptions in England and Wales by age of child for the years 1995 to 2005 is included in Table 6.2b in the Statistics Series Marriage, divorce and adoptions, Volume FM2, published by the Office for National Statistics. A copy of this publication is available on the National Statistics website at:
	www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/themepopulation/FM2no32/FM2 32.pdf.
	The number of children entered into the Adopted Children Register following court orders made in 2006, and other relevant statistics was published on 8 November 2007 by ONS at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=592Pos=1ColRank=1Rank=358.

Children in Care

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children were in care at the latest date for which figures are available in the age groups  (a) 0 to five,  (b) five to nine,  (c) nine to 12 and  (d) 12 to 16 years.

Kevin Brennan: The information is provided in table 1 as follows.
	
		
			  Table 1: children looked after at 31 March 2007 by age at 31 March( 1,2,3) 
			  Numbers 
			   Age at 31 March 2007 (years) 
			   All ages  0 to 4  5 to 8  9 to 11  12 to 15  16 and over 
			 All children looked after at 31 March 2007 60,000 11,800 8,300 8,800 19,300 11,800 
			 (1) Source: SSDA903 return on children looked after. (2) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements. (3) To ensure that no individual can be identified from statistical tables, we use conventions for the rounding and suppression of very small numbers. All numbers which appear in national tables have been rounded to the nearest 100 if they exceed 1,000 and to the nearest 10 otherwise. Numbers from 1 to 5 inclusive have been suppressed, being replaced in the table by a hyphen (-). It has been necessary to suppress other figures whenever it would be possible to calculate the value of a suppressed number by a means of simple arithmetic. The rule applied in these circumstances has been to suppress the next smallest data item provided its value is strictly less than 20.

Children: Counselling

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which schools are participating in the peer mentoring and befriending scheme; and what criteria are being used to assess the effectiveness of this scheme.

Kevin Brennan: A list of schools who are participating in the Department's Peer Mentoring programme has been placed in the Library. This programme is managed on behalf of the Department by the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation.
	Since 2006, the Department has been evaluating the impact of the Peer Mentoring programme through pilot projects in 180 schools. This two-year evaluation has been externally commissioned. Each school taking part in the pilot chose an outcome for their project, from the following list:
	Improved academic performance or attainment;
	Improved behaviour;
	Improved attendance; and
	Reductions in bullying.
	The pilots are being evaluated against these outcomes.

Children: Day Care

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of child care providers were registered with Ofsted in each region in each year since 1997.

Beverley Hughes: The information is not available in the form requested.
	Since 2003 Ofsted has been responsible for the registration and inspection of child care providers. The table shows the number of providers registered with Ofsted each year.
	
		
			  Number ( 1,2)  of registered child care providers for children under  8  years of age by type of care  Government  o ffice  r egion in England  Position as at 31 March each year: 2003-07 
			   2003  2004 
			   Childminders  Full day care  Sessional day care  Out of school day care  Creche day care  All  Childminders  Full day care  Sessional day care  Out of school day care  Creche day care 
			 England 68,200 9,600 11,600 8,000 1,900 99,300 72,400 11,000 11,300 9,200 2,200 
			 East of England 8,100 900 1,700 800 100 11,500 8,700 1,000 1,700 900 300 
			 East Midlands 5,700 800 1,100 600 200 8,300 6,000 900 1,100 700 200 
			 London 10,200 1,500 1,200 1,100 300 14,300 11,700 1,700 1,200 1,300 300 
			 Inner London
			 Outer London
			 North East and Yorkshire 9,600 1,200 1,300 1,100 400 13,600 10,100 1,400 1,200 1,200 500 
			 North East
			 Yorkshire and the Humber
			 North West England 8,200 1,300 1,300 1,300 200 12,400 8,700 1,500 1,300 1,600 300 
			 South East England 12,900 1,700 2,300 1,200 300 18,400 13,700 2,000 2,300 1,300 300 
			 South West England 6,900 1,100 1,700 800 200 10,600 6,800 1,300 1,600 900 200 
			 West Midlands 6,600 1,200 1,100 1,100 200 10,200 6,800 1,300 1,000 1,300 200 
		
	
	
		
			   200 5  200 6 
			   Childminders  Full day care  Sessional day care  Out of school day care  Creche day care  All  Childminders  Full day care  Sessional day care  Out of school day care  Creche day care 
			 England 70,200 12,100 10,200 9,700 2,500 104,700 71,600 13,100 9,700 10,500 2,700 
			 East of England 8,400 1,100 1,600 900 300 12,300 8,500 1,200 1,500 1,000 400 
			 East Midlands 5,800 900 1,000 700 200 8,600 5,900 1,000 1,000 700 200 
			 London 11,400 1,800 1,100 1,400 300 16,100  
			 Inner London   3,600 900 300 700 200 
			 Outer London   8,200 1,000 700 900 200 
			 North East and Yorkshire 10,100 1,600 1,100 1,200 500 14,500  
			 North East   3,600 500 300 400 300 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber   6,800 1,200 700 1,000 300 
			 North West England 8,200 1,600 1,100 1,700 400 13,000 8,300 1,800 1,000 1,800 400 
			 South East England 13,400 2,100 2,200 1,400 400 19,500 13,800 2,300 2,000 1,600 400 
			 South West England 6,500 1,400 1,400 1,000 200 10,500 6,700 1,500 1,300 1,100 200 
			 West Midlands 6,400 1,500 900 1,200 200 10,200 6,200 1,600 800 1,300 300 
		
	
	
		
			   200 7 
			   Childminders  Full day care  Sessional day care  Out of school day care  Creche day care  All 
			 England 69,925 13,814 8,998 10,608 2,767 106,112 
			 East of England 8,522 1,263 1,463 1,004 388 12,640 
			 East Midlands 5,863 1,099 919 770 197 8,848 
			 London   
			 Inner London 3,693 914 268 691 234 5,800 
			 Outer London 8,008 1,066 716 956 182 10,928 
			 North East and Yorkshire   
			 North East 3,474 542 251 467 283 5,017 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 6,534 1,323 665 979 270 9,771 
			 North West England 8,072 1,869 930 1,898 423 13,192 
			 South East England 13,218 2,430 1,869 1,533 366 19,416 
			 South West England 6,387 1,642 1,169 1,012 168 10,378 
			 West Midlands 6,154 1;666 748 1,298 256 10,122 
			 (1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 if under 100, and to the nearest 100 if over 100. (2) Data Source: Ofsted

Children: Day Care

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding was provided for child care within Copeland in each of the last 10 years.

Beverley Hughes: The data on funding for child care cannot be broken down by constituency. The information provided in the following table is for Cumbria local authority.
	
		
			   Child care expenditure 
			 1997-98 4.8 
			 1998-99 11.4 
			 1999-2000 12.5 
			 2000-01 16.6 
			 2001-02 18.3 
			 2002-03 19.1 
			 2003-04 27.5 
			 2004-05 29.8 
			 2005-06 33.7 
			 2006-07 36.7 
			 2007-08 41.0 
			  Notes: 1. Extra funding through the School Standards Grant and Standards Fund is not included in the figures as it is not possible to identify how much of these grants are spent on the under 5s. 2. The data include Under 5s and Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare (Revenue and Capital) elements. 3. For the under 5s element included in the total three different funding methods existed between 1997-98 and 2007-08: Prior to 2003-04, Early Education funding for four-year-olds was via School Spending Assessments (SSA). Places for three-year-olds in the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sectors were funded directly via Nursery Education Grant (NEG). New three-year-old places created in the maintained sector were funded via SSA. Between 2003-04 and 2005-06 LAs received funding to provide free nursery education for three and four-year-olds through the under-fives sub-block of their Education Formula Spending Share (EFSS). From 2006-07 LAs receive funding for all three to 15-year-olds through the DSG. Funding for under 5s is not separately identified as it is up to local authorities to decide how to distribute their funding. 4. The Sure Start Early Years and Childcare data source is audited returns from the local authority. For years up to and including 2001-02, funding allocation have been quoted as audited data are not available.

Children: Day Care

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what his forecast is of his Department's spending on child care in each quarter to 2011, broken down by region;
	(2)  what the real term in his Department's spending on child care was in each quarter since 1997, broken down by region.

Beverley Hughes: The information available on forecast spending to 2011 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Expenditure forecasts 
			   million, cash terms 
			   Child care 
			 2006-07 5,221 
			 2007-08 5,747 
			 2008-09 5,729 
			 2009-10 6,230 
			 2010-11 6,686 
			  Notes: 1. Forecast data is not readily available below national level and is only available on an annual basis. 2. The data includes under-fives and Sure Start, early years and child care (revenue and capital) elements. 3. The data includes funding from 2008-09 for the additional 2.5 hours free entitlement for three and four-year-olds. 4. The under-fives element included in the total includes funding both from DCSF and other sources. 
		
	
	The information available on spending on child care since 1997 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Cash   Real terms 
			   Child  care Expenditure  GDP deflator  (20 December 2007)  Child care expenditure  Increase from 1997-98 
			 1997-98 1,690 80.366 2,103  
			 1998-99 1,944 82.400 2,359 256 
			 1999-2000 2,223 84.063 2,644 542 
			 2000-01 2,601 85.260 3,051 948 
			 2001-02 3,165 87.301 3,625 1,523 
			 2002-03 3,437 90.033 3,817 1,715 
			 2003-04 3,760 92.642 4,059 1,956 
			 2004-05 4,196 95.200 4,408 2,305 
			 2005-06 4,673 97.211 4,807 2,704 
			  Notes: 1. This information can only be provided at national level. The data is only available annually so it cannot be broken down by quarter. 2. The data includes under-fives and Sure Start, early years and child care (revenue and capital) elements. 3. The under-fives element included is for total expenditure on under-fives and will include funding both from this Department and other sources. 4. Figures have been adjusted in line with the latest GDP deflators (20 December 2007). 2006-07 has been used as the baseline. 5. 2005-06 figures are provisional.

Children: Day Care

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the average cost of child care in each quarter since 1997, broken down by region.

Beverley Hughes: The information is not available in the form requested. Data on the average hourly costs of child care from Ofsted registered providers is collected as part of the child care and early years providers survey. The figures on average hourly cost by region from the 2006 child care and early years providers survey are provided in the following table. Figures are not available for earlier years.
	
		
			  Average hourly fees charged by region 
			   Full day are  Sessional  After school clubs  Holiday clubs  Childminders 
			 Overall average hourly fee 2.70 1.90 2.30 1.70 3.20 
			 East Midlands 2.70 1.60 2.30 1.20 2.90 
			 East 2.60 2.00 2.50 1.70 3.30 
			 London 2.90 2.10 2.00 1.40 3.90 
			 North East, Yorkshire and Humberside 2.60 1.60 2.30 1.30 3.00 
			 North West 2.60 1.60 2.10 1.50 2.90 
			 South East 2.80 2.20 2.40 1.60 3.40 
			 SouthWest 2.80 1.90 2.30 1.50 3.10 
			 West Midlands 2.70 2.40 2.40 1.20 2.80 
		
	
	The fees data collected in this survey should be treated with caution as the figures have been derived from a number of variables. In addition a large number of providers who responded to the survey were unwilling or unable to provide details on the fees they charged.

Children: Day Care

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what definition of a child care place his Department uses.

Beverley Hughes: Child care in England is defined in legislation for the first time in Section 18 of the Childcare Act 2006. This defines child care as, any form of care for a child including education ... and any other supervised activity but excluding:
	education or activities provided by a school for a pupil during school hours, unless that pupil has not yet started key stage 1 (thereby including nursery and reception classes);
	care provided for a child by a parent, step-parent or person with parental responsibility; or any relative; or foster parent (local authority or private); or
	care provided by a children's home, a care home, a hospital or a residential family centre, a young offenders' institution, a secure training centre, or a secure care home within any of those establishments.

Children: Day Care

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many child care places were available in each year since 1997, broken down by region.

Beverley Hughes: The information is not available in the form requested.
	Since 2003 Ofsted has been responsible for the registration and inspection of child care providers. The table shows the number of places registered with Ofsted each year.
	
		
			  Number( 1, 2)  of registered child care places for children under eight years of age by type of care( 3) ,( ) Government office region in England: position as at 31 March each year 2003 to 2007 
			   2003  2004 
			   Childminders  Full day care  Sessional day care  Out of school day care  Childminders  Full day care  Sessional day care  Out of school day care 
			 England 300,900 381,600 280,800 285,400 319,700 456,300 274,100 326,700 
			 North East and Yorkshire 45,900 48,800 29,500 32,900 48,700 61,800 28,600 37,800 
			 North East 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 
			 North West 37,300 57,200 31,300 46,400 39,800 69,300 30,000 56,300 
			 East Midlands 26,100 34,500 26,100 22,600 28,300 40,800 25,700 24,200 
			 West Midlands 31,200 45,000 25,400 37,700 32,200 52,100 22,900 42,700 
			 East of England 34,700 35,400 41,300 25,800 37,500 43,500 42,000 31,400 
			 London 36,600 54,300 28,900 40,900 40,700 62,100 28,900 47,200 
			 Inner London 
			 Outer London 
			 South East 57,900 68,000 60,400 52,100 61,500 80,800 60,500 57,600 
			 South West 31,200 38,300 37,900 27,100 31,100 45,800 35,500 29,600 
		
	
	
		
			   2005  2006 
			   Childminders  Full day care  Sessional day care  Out of school day care  Childminders  Full day care  Sessional day care  Out of school day care 
			 England 316,100 518,000 249,600 341,200 322,200 565,700 237,100 366,500 
			 North East and Yorkshire 49,300 71,400 24,700 38,100 
			 North East 17,400 24,200 6,100 14,300 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 33,200 53,700 17,100 27,600 
			 North West 38,600 77,100 26,000 60,400 39,600 83,900 24,800 64,800 
			 East Midlands 28,200 46,500 24,400 23,300 28,700 50,800 23,400 25,200 
			 West Midlands 31,200 59,000 20,200 42,200 30,200 65,300 19,400 44,200 
			 East of England 37,100 49,400 40,000 32,000 37,800 53,900 38,300 33,100 
			 London 40,500 71,600 26,900 52,200 
			 Inner London 12,000 35,400 6,000 25,700 
			 Outer London 29,900 42,100 20,200 33,300 
			 South East 60,800 91,300 55,800 61,300 62,300 99,400 52,300 65,500 
			 South West 30,300 51,700 31,700 31,700 31 ,000 57,000 29,600 32,800 
		
	
	
		
			   2007 
			   Childminders  Full day care  Sessional day care  Out of school day care 
			 England 317,700 598,700 221,600 365,400 
			 North East and Yorkshire 
			 North East 17,300 27,100 5,700 15,100 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 32,100 57,900 15,500 28,300 
			 North West 38,900 89,300 22,600 66,600 
			 East Midlands 28,600 54,200 22,700 26,000 
			 West Midlands 30,000 70,300 17,700 43,500 
			 East of England 38,000 55,500 36,800 33,900 
			 London 
			 Inner London 12,200 37,300 5,600 25,900 
			 Outer London 30,000 43,000 19,700 33,400 
			 South East 60,200 103,300 48,700 61,400 
			 South West 30,100 60,900 26,700 31,200 
			 (1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 if under 100, and to the nearest 100 if over 100. (2) Data Source: Ofsted (3) Excludes the number of child care places in creche day care.

Children: Day Care

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what forecast he has made of the number of child care places available in each year to 2011, broken down by region;
	(2)  what forecast he has made of the average number of hours of child care that will be taken up by a family using child care in each of the next 10 years, broken down by  (a) income decile,  (b) ethnicity and  (c) region.

Beverley Hughes: Section 11 of the Childcare Act 2006, which came into force in April 2007, placed a duty on local authorities to complete a child care sufficiency assessment before April 2008. They will have to complete an assessment at least every three years, and keep it under review between assessments, especially where there are key demographic changes or as new data become available.
	The assessment process will give local authorities the evidence and information they need to facilitate and shape a child care market that is flexible, sustainable and responsive to parents' needs. It will also help local authorities to develop their strategies for meeting the new duty to secure sufficient child care which will start in April 2008.

Children: Day Care

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of  (a) one and  (b) two parent families taking up child care places in each year since 1997, broken down by (i) income decile, (ii) ethnicity, (iii) region and (iv) family size.

Beverley Hughes: Estimates of the proportion of one and two parent families taking up child care places in the last year by household income, ethnic group, region and family size are available from the 2004 Parents' Childcare Survey(1) and these figures are provided in the following table. Estimates in this form are not available for earlier years.
	(1) Childcare and Early Years Provision: A Study of Parents' Use, Views and Experiences, Research Report 723; DfES. Bryson, C., Kazimirski, A. and Southwood, H. (2006). This report is available at:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR723.pdf
	
		
			  Proportion of lone parents and couples that used child care in the last year by household income, ethnicity, region and family size 
			  Percentage 
			   Couples  Lone parents 
			 Under 10, 000 75 81 
			 10,000-19,999 82 88 
			 20,000-31,999 88 92 
			 32,000+ 92 88 
			
			 White 89 86 
			 Black and Minority Ethnic Groups 75 80 
			
			 East Midlands 87 80 
			 East of England 89 83 
			 London 77 78 
			 North East 87 96 
			 North West 84 79 
			 South East 93 90 
			 South West 89 87 
			 West Midlands 87 87 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 88 90 
			
			 1 child 82 82 
			 2 children 89 86 
			 3 or more children 91 89 
			
			 All families 87 85

Children: Day Care

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what forecast he has made of the number of  (a) one and  (b) two parent families taking up child care places in each quarter in each of the next 10 years, broken down by (i) income decile, (ii) ethnicity and (iii) region, (iv) family size.

Beverley Hughes: Section 11 of the Childcare Act 2006, which came into force in April 2007, placed a duty on local authorities to complete a child care sufficiency assessment before April 2008. They will have to complete an assessment at least every three years, and keep it under review between assessments, especially where there are key demographic changes or as new data become available.
	The assessment process will give local authorities the evidence and information they need to facilitate and shape a child care market that is flexible, sustainable and responsive to parents' needs. It will also help local authorities to develop their strategies for meeting the new duty to secure sufficient child care which will start in April 2008.
	Estimates of the proportion of one and two parent families taking up child care places in 2004 by household income, ethnic group, region and family size are available from the 2004 Parents' Childcare Survey(1) and these figures are provided in the following table.
	(1) Childcare and Early Years Provision: A Study of Parents' Use, Views and Experiences, Research Report 723; DfES. Bryson, C., Kazimirski, A. and Southwood, H. (2006). This report is available at:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR723.pdf
	
		
			  Proportion of lone parents and couples that used child care in the last year by household income, ethnicity, region and family size 
			  Percentage 
			   Couples  Lone parents 
			 Under 10,000 75 81 
			 10,000-19,999 82 88 
			 20,000-31,999 88 92 
			 32,000+ 92 88 
			
			 White 89 86 
			 Black and Minority Ethnic Groups 75 80 
			
			 East Midlands 87 80 
			 East of England 89 83 
			 London 77 78 
			 North East 87 96 
			 North West 84 79 
			 South East 93 90 
			 South West 89 87 
			 West Midlands 87 87 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 88 90 
			
			 1 child 82 82 
			 2 children 89 86 
			 3 or more children 91 89 
			
			 All families 87 85

Children: Day Care

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many hours of child care on average a family using child care received in each year since 1997, broken down by  (a) income decile,  (b) ethnicity and  (c) region.

Beverley Hughes: The Parents' Childcare Survey collects information on hours of child care used by all children in the family in the last week. Details about number of hours of child care used in the last year are not collected as this would place too great a burden on respondents.
	The 2004 Parents' Childcare Survey(1) estimated that on average each family using child care used 26 hours of child care in the week before their interview.
	The average number of hours of child care used in the last week by household income, ethnic group and region is shown in the following table. Income deciles cannot be calculated as the income data are collected in bands rather than actual amounts.
	Estimates in this form are not available for earlier years.
	(1) Childcare and Early Years Provision: A Study of Parents' Use, Views and Experiences, Research Report 723; DfES. Bryson, C., Kazimirski, A. and Southwood, H. (2006). This report is available at:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR723.pdf
	
		
			  Average hours of child care used in the last week, among all families using child care, by household income, ethnicity and region 
			   Mean hours of childcare used 
			 Under 10,000 26 
			 10,000-19,999 28 
			 20,000-31,999 24 
			 32,000+ 27 
			   
			 White 26 
			 Black and Minority Ethnic Group 27 
			   
			 North East 26 
			 North West 27 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 26 
			 East Midlands 26 
			 West Midlands 28 
			 East 24 
			 London 28 
			 South East 27 
			 South West 22 
			   
			 All families 26

Children: Day Care

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the average cost of an hour of child care from an Ofsted registered provider, broken down by region.

Beverley Hughes: Data on the average hourly costs of child care from Ofsted registered providers are collected as part of the Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey. The following table shows the estimated average hourly fees charged by Ofsted registered childcare providers by region, based on the 2006 childcare and early years providers survey.
	
		
			  Average hourly fees charged by region 
			   Full day care  Sessional  After school clubs  Holiday clubs  Childminders 
			 Overall average hourly fee 2.70 1.90 2.30 1.70 3.20 
			 East Midlands 2.70 1.60 2.30 1.20 2.90 
			 East 2.60 2.00 2.50 1.70 3.30 
			 London 2.90 2.10 2.00 1.40 3.90 
			 North East, Yorkshire and Humberside 2.60 1.60 2.30 1.30 3.00 
			 NorthWest 2.60 1.60 2.10 1.50 2.90 
			 South East 2.80 2.20 2.40 1.60 3.40 
			 SouthWest 2.80 1.90 2.30 1.50 3.10 
			 West Midlands 2.70 2.40 2.40 1.20 2.80 
		
	
	The fees data collected in this survey should be treated with caution as the figures have been derived from a number of variables. In addition a large number of providers who responded to the survey were unwilling or unable to provide details on the fees they charged.

Departmental Aviation

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much has been spent by his Department on international flights since it was established.

Kevin Brennan: Since 1999 the Government have published a list of all overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers costing over 500. Information for the last financial year was published on 25 July 2007. Details for the current financial year will be published as soon as possible after the end of the financial year. From next year, the list will include details of overseas visits undertaken by all Ministers. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code.
	Information in respect of flights taken by officials could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Consultants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was paid in consultancy fees by his Department and its predecessors in each year since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: Historical figures are not available for the Department for Children, Schools and Families and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Figures for the Department for Education and Skills show that it spent 66.6 million on consultancy from 2005-06 to 2006-07. This figure comprises 7.6 million charged to administration budgets; and 59 million charged to programme budgets.
	Figures for the Department for Education and Skills show that the following costs of consultancy were charged to administration budgets from 1997:
	
		
			million 
			 1997-98 3.9 
			 1998-99 5.0 
			 1999-2000 3.7 
			 2000-01 4.3 
			 2001-02 5.0 
			 2002-03 4.0 
			 2003-04 4.7 
			 2004-05 3.9 
			 2005-06 3.5 
			 2006-07 4.1 
		
	
	The costs of consultancy charged to programme budgets before November 2004 were not recorded centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The total cost of consultancy charged to programme budgets from November to March 2004-05 was 4.4 million, and from April 2005 to March 2007 was 59 million.

Departmental Information Officers

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many press officers are employed by his Department.

Kevin Brennan: The Department for Children, Schools and Families currently employs the full-time equivalent of 23 press officers. This team provides a 24 hour service to national, regional and specialist sector media.

Departmental Manpower

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of posts in his Department were recategorised from back office to frontline posts as classified by the Gershon efficiency review in each year since 2004.

Kevin Brennan: The Department for Children, Schools and Families is committed to achieving its workforce reduction target, shared with the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills, by the end of 2007/08. This is a net target and no posts will be reallocated to the frontline as part of it.

Departmental Manpower

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) men and  (b) women of each Civil Service grade are employed by his Department.

Kevin Brennan: The following table sets out how many men and women are employed in each civil service grade in my Department:
	
		
			  Grade  (a) Men  (b) Women  Total 
			 Support Grade Band 1 9 6 15 
			 Support Grade Band 2 35 11 46 
			 Executive Assistant (EA)(1) 106 299 405 
			 Executive Officer (EO) and equivalents 220 426 646 
			 Higher Executive Officer (HEO) and equivalents 288 353 641 
			 Senior Executive Officer (SEO) and equivalents 200 242 442 
			 Grade 7 and equivalents 230 242 472 
			 Grade 6 76 73 149 
			 Senior Civil Service (SCS) 60 47 107 
			 DCSF total 1,224 1,699 2,923 
			 (1) The Department for Children, Schools and Families has recently merged the Administrative Assistant (AA) and Administrative Officer (AO) Civil Service grades into an Executive Assistant (EA) role.

Departmental Publicity

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much has been spent by his Department on advertising in the last 12 months.

Kevin Brennan: In 2006-07 the Department (then the Department for Education and Skills) spent 6.265 million on advertising as part of information campaigns. Additionally, the Department's spend in advertising vacancies at senior civil service level for the last financial year was 97,605.00. The costs for advertising vacancies below senior civil service level are not recorded in the same way and figures could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many staff in his Department have been  (a) disciplined and  (b) had their employment terminated as a result of a poor sickness record in each of the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			   Staff disciplined  Employment terminated 
			 2006 1 1 
			 2005 1 1 
			 2004 2 1 
			 2003 0 0 
			 2002 0 0

Educational Psychology

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what progress is being made on the implementation of recommendations from the Children's Workforce Development Council on the training of educational psychologists;
	(2)  what plans he has to ensure adequate numbers of educational psychologists over the next 10 years; and if he will take steps to ensure that their numbers do not fall below the current level;
	(3)  how many educational psychologists are employed by local authorities in England;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the role of educational psychologists in the education system;
	(5)  whether agreement has been reached between his Department and the Local Government Association on funding for the training of educational psychologists.

Kevin Brennan: My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools and Learners has signalled his support for the recommendations contained within the Children's Workforce Development Council's (CWDC) paper on educational psychologists (EPs), which identified a number of options for the future funding and administration arrangements in relation to the initial entry training of EPs.
	We have asked the CWDC and the Local Government Association, as the representative body of the local authority employers, to take matters forward in terms of the funding and administration of trainee EP places/courses commencing in September 2008. Further information can be accessed via the CWDC website at:
	www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/educationalpsychology
	The full-time equivalent number of EPs in post in local authorities in England, as at January 2007, was 2,352, with 73 full-time vacancies. EPs are employed by local authorities, and it is for those authorities to determine how many to employ in light of their assessment of local needs and available resources, and to plan for future needs. It is not the role of the Department to undertake any manpower planning or funding assessment for this group of local authority employees.
	EPs play an important role in assessing special educational needs and in helping to formulate support arrangements for children with a wide range of needs, including those with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties. The value of their contribution was confirmed in an independent study, conducted by the School of Education, University of Manchester, published by the Department on 31 August 2006. A copy of the report, A Review of the Functions and Contribution of Educational Psychologists in England and Wales in light of Every Child Matters: Change for Children (Research Report No. 792) was placed in the House of Commons Library, and can also be accessed via the Department's research website:
	www.dcsf.gov.uk/research

Further Education: Truancy

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of persistent truants went on to post-16 education in the latest period for which figures are available.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

General Certificate of Secondary Education: Truancy

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of persistent truants gained five A* to C grades including English and mathematics in the last year.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Illegal Immigrants

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many illegal immigrants have been discovered working for his Department and its agencies in the last year for which figures are available.

Kevin Brennan: No illegal immigrants have been discovered working for my Department or its agencies.

Nurseries: Copeland

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many free nursery places have been provided within Copeland over the last five years.

Beverley Hughes: The available information is shown in the table.
	The table provides information about the part-time equivalent number of free early education places filled by three and four-year-olds in Copeland parliamentary constituency area. Data are provided for 2004-07 only because data are not available at constituency level for 2003.
	
		
			  Number of part-time funded places( 1, 2, 3)  filled by three and four-year-olds, parliamentary constituency: Copeland, position in January 
			   Three-year-olds  Four-year-olds 
			   Maintained nursery and primary schools( 4)  Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers( 5)  Total three-year-olds  Maintained nursery and primary schools( 6)  Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers( 7)  Total four-year-olds 
			 2004 380 240 630 630 90 720 
			 2005 400 250 640 610 90 690 
			 2006 400 240 630 580 100 690 
			 2007 390 270 660 600 90 690 
			 (1) A place is equal to five or more sessions and can be filled by more than one child. (2) Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 if they exceed 1,000 and to the nearest 10 otherwise. (3) Prior to 2004, information on early education places was derived from returns made by local authorities as part of the nursery education grant (NEG) data collection exercise. These data were collected at local authority level, therefore, data for this parliamentary constituency for 2003 is not available. (4) Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Schools Census. (5) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Schools Census. (6) Headcount of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Schools Census. (7) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Schools Census. 
		
	
	The latest figures on early education places for three and four-year-olds in England were published in Statistical First Release (SFR) 19/2007 Provision for children under five years of age in England: January 2007, available on my Department's website at www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/

Pupil Exclusions

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what proportion of fixed period exclusions were given to pupils  (a) with special educational needs and  (b) entitled to free school meals in (i) secondary and (ii) primary schools in (A) Uxbridge constituency, (B) each London borough and (C) England in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what percentage of secondary school sessions were missed through unauthorised absences in  (a) Uxbridge constituency,  (b) each London borough and  (c) England in each year since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: The requested information on fixed period exclusions can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on unauthorised absence has been published, at school level, as part of the achievement and attainment tables. This can be found at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/performancetables/
	The latest available information on absence covers autumn term 2006 and spring term 2007 and includes information at national and regional level. This is published at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000756/index.shtml

Pupil Exclusions

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) primary and  (b) secondary pupils received a permanent exclusion in the last three years, broken down by age.

Kevin Brennan: The readily available information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Maintained primary, secondary and special schools( 1, 2) : Number of permanent exclusions by age, England, 2003/04 to 2005/06 (Estimates)( 3) 
			  Number of Permanent Exclusions 
			   2003/04  2004/05  2005/06 
			  Number of exclusions
			 Age(4):
			 4 and under 20 60 10 
			 5 50 40 50 
			 6 90 60 80 
			 7 160 110 120 
			 8 230 190 180 
			 9 370 300 270 
			 10 410 420 290 
			 11 680 650 640 
			 12 1,540 1,590 1,520 
			 13 2,470 2,410 2,340 
			 14 2,750 2,580 2,600 
			 15 1,070 980 970 
			 16 30 40 30 
			 17 20 10 20 
			 18 * * * 
			 19 and over * 0 0 
			 Total 9,880 9,440 9,170 
			 
			  Percentage of school population( 5)
			 Age(4):
			 4 and under 0.00 0.01 0.00 
			 5 0.01 0.01 0.01 
			 6 0.02 0.01 0.01 
			 7 0.03 0.02 0.02 
			 8 0.04 0.03 0.03 
			 9 0.06 0.05 0.05 
			 10 0.07 0.07 0.05 
			 11 0.11 0.11 0.11 
			 12 0.25 0.26 0.26 
			 13 0.41 0.40 0.39 
			 14 0.46 0.43 0.43 
			 15 0.18 0.17 0.16 
			 16 0.01 0.02 0.02 
			 17 0.01 0.01 0.02 
			 18 * * * 
			 19 and over * 0.00 0.00 
			 Total 0.13 0.12 0.12 
			 * = Less than 5, or a rate based on less than 5. (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes both maintained and non-maintained special schools. (3) Figures relating to permanent exclusions are estimates based on incomplete pupil-level data. (4) Age as at 31 August prior to start of academic year. (5) The number of exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils of each age in primary, secondary and special schools (excluding dually registered pupils in special schools) in January 2003.  Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Pupil Exclusions

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school pupils received a fixed period exclusion in the last three years, broken down by age.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The latest available information on the number of fixed period exclusions by age is shown in the table. This relates to local authority maintained secondary schools only and to the number of episodes of fixed period exclusion. Some pupils will have several episodes of fixed period exclusion during the academic year.
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools( 1,2) : Number of fixed period exclusions by ageEngland 2005/06 
			   Fixed period exclusions 
			   Boys  Girls  Total 
			  Number of exclusions
			  Age( 3) :
			 4 and under 0 0 0 
			 5 0 0 0 
			 6 0 0 0 
			 7 0 0 0 
			 8 (4) 0 (4) 
			 9 530 80 610 
			 10 860 90 950 
			 11 31,830 6,690 38,530 
			 12 49,370 16,850 66,230 
			 13 61,000 27,730 88,720 
			 14 64,220 28,390 92,610 
			 15 40,030 14,640 54,670 
			 16 760 200 950 
			 17 300 80 380 
			 18 20 10 30 
			 19 and over 10 (4) 10 
			 Total(5) 248,950 94,750 343,840 
			 
			  Percentage of school population( 6)
			  Age( 3) :
			 4 and under 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 5 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 6 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 7 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 8 (4) 0.00 (4) 
			 9 4.36 0.69 2.57 
			 10 6.16 0.64 3.46 
			 11 11.15 2.43 6.87 
			 12 16.98 5.97 11.56 
			 13 20.26 9.51 14.97 
			 14 21.35 9.67 15.58 
			 15 13.67 5.11 9.44 
			 16 0.84 0.19 0.50 
			 17 0.43 0.09 0.25 
			 18 0.33 0.21 0.27 
			 19 and over 1.98 (4) 1.00 
			 Total(5) 14.96 5.77 10.40 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) For the 2005/06 school year, information on fixed period exclusions from secondary schools was collected via the School Census for the first time (the Termly Exclusions Survey has been discontinued). For exclusions during 2006/07, information on fixed period exclusions will also be collected from primary and special schools. See Notes to Editors 2. (3) Age as at 31 August 2005. (4) Less than 5, or a rate based on less than 5. (5) There were 143 exclusions for which gender and age was unclassified. These have been included in the total only. (6) The number of exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils of each age in secondary schools as at January 2006.  Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source:  School Census.

Pupil Exclusions

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many exclusions there were of  (a) boys and  (b) girls from schools in England in each year since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested for permanent exclusions is shown in the table.
	Information on fixed period exclusions was collected for the first time for the academic year 2003/04. The number of fixed period exclusions for maintained primary, maintained secondary and all special schools for 2003/04 and 2004/05 and the number of fixed period exclusions for maintained secondary schools only for 2005/06 are shown in the tables.
	
		
			  Maintained primary, secondary and special schools( 1,2) : Number of permanent exclusions by genderEngland, 1997/98 to 2005/06 (Estimates)( 3) 
			   1997/98  1998/99  1999/2000  2000/01( 3)  2001/02( 3)  2002/03( 3)  2003/04( 3)  2004/05( 3)  2005/06( 3) 
			  Number of permanent exclusions  
			 Total(4) 12,300 10,440 8,320 9,140 9,540 9,290 9,880 9,440 9,170 
			 Boys 10,270 8,650 7,030 7,550 7,810 7,580 7,960 7,490 7,290 
			 Girls 2,030 1,790 1,290 1,580 1,720 1,710 1,930 1,940 1,860 
			   
			  Percentage of permanent exclusions( 5)  
			 Total(4) 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 
			 Boys 84 83 84 83 82 82 81 79 79 
			 Girls 16 17 16 17 18 18 19 21 20 
			   
			  Percentage of school population( 6)  
			 Total 0.16 0.14 0.11 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.13 0.12 0.12 
			 Boys 0.26 0.22 0.18 0.19 0.20 0.19 0.20 0.19 0.19 
			 Girls 0.05 0.05 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes both maintained and non-maintained special schools. (3) Estimates based on incomplete pupil-level data. See Notes to Editors 4. (4) In 2005/06 there were 26 exclusions for which gender was not classifiedthese are included in the total column only. (5) The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the total number of permanent exclusions. (6) The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of all pupils in primary, secondary and special schools (excluding dually registered pupils in special schools) in January of each year.  Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census. 
		
	
	
		
			  Maintained primary, secondary and special schools( 1,2) : Number of fixed period exclusions by genderEngland 2003/04 and 2004/05 
			   2003/04( 3)  2004/05 
			  Number of fixed period exclusions   
			 Total(4) 344,510 389,560 
			 Boys 263,900 292,290 
			 Girls 80,610 94,270 
			
			  Percentage of fixed period exclusions( 3)   
			 Total 100 100 
			 Boys 77 75 
			 Girls 23 24 
			
			  Percentage of school population( 4)   
			 Total 4.49 5.12 
			 Boys 6.76 7.62 
			 Girls 2.14 2.53 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes both maintained and non-maintained special schools. (3) The number of fixed period exclusions expressed as a percentage of the total number of fixed period exclusions. (4) The number of fixed period exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of all pupils in primary, secondary and special schools (excluding dually registered pupils in special schools) in January of each year.  Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: Termly exclusions survey. 
		
	
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools( 1,2) : Number of fixed period exclusions by genderEngland 2005/06( 3) 
			   Fixed period exclusions 
			   Boys  Girls  Total 
			 Number of exclusions 248,950 94,750 343,840 
			 Percentage of school population(4) 14.96 5.77 10.40 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) For the 2005/06 school year, information on fixed period exclusions from secondary schools was collected via the School Census for the first time (the Termly Exclusions Survey has been discontinued). For exclusions during 2006/07, information on fixed period exclusions will also be collected from primary and special schools. (3) There were 140 exclusions for which gender was unclassified. These have been included in the total only. (4) The number of exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils of each age in secondary schools as at January 2006. # less than 5, or a rate based on less than 5.  Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census.

Pupil Exclusions: Free School Meals

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils received a  (a) fixed period and  (b) permanent exclusion in the last 12 month period for which figures are available, broken down by (i) ethnicity and (ii) sex; and how many of each were in receipt of free school meals at the time of their exclusion.

Kevin Brennan: The readily available information is shown in the tables. The provision of further information on excluded pupils free school meal eligibility would involve disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Maintained primary, secondary and special schools( 1, 2) : Number of permanent exclusions by ethnic group and gender( 3) , England, 2005/06 (Estimates)( 4) 
			  Permanent e xclusions( 4) 
			   Boys  Girls  Total 
			   Number  Percentage of school population( 5)  Number  Percentage of school population( 5)  Number  Percentage of school population( 5) 
			  White 5,720 0.20 1,510 0.06 7,230 0.13 
			 White British 5,520 0.20 1,470 0.06 6,990 0.13 
			 Irish 20 0.18 10 0.05 30 0.11 
			 Traveller of Irish heritage 10 0.66 0 0.05 10 0.36 
			 Gypsy/Roma 20 0.64 10 0.23 30 0.44 
			 Any other White background 130 0.16 30 0.04 160 0.10 
			
			  Mixed 350 0.34 100 0.10 450 0.22 
			 White and Black Caribbean 200 0.57 60 0.15 260 0.36 
			 White and Black African 20 0.23 10 0.13 40 0.18 
			 White and Asian 20 0.08 10 0.05 30 0.06 
			 Any other Mixed background 100 0.29 30 0.07 130 0.18 
			
			  Asian 300 0.12 30 0.01 330 0.07 
			 Indian 60 0.07 10 0.01 60 0.04 
			 Pakistani 140 0.14 10 0.02 160 0.08 
			 Bangladeshi 60 0.16 * * 70 0.08 
			 Any other Asian background 30 0.12 * * 40 0.06 
			
			  Black 560 0.42 140 0.10 700 0.26 
			 Black Caribbean 300 0.66 70 0.16 380 0.41 
			 Black African 190 0.26 40 0.06 230 0.16 
			 Any other Black background 70 0.44 20 0.14 90 0.30 
			
			  Chinese * * 0 0.00 * * 
			
			  Any other ethnic group 60 0.16 10 0.03 70 0.10 
			
			  Unclassified( 6) 290  70  360  
			
			  Minority Ethnic Pupils 1,460 0.23 320 0.05 1,780 0.14 
			
			  All pupils( 3) 7,270 0.21 1,860 0.06 9,130 0.14 
			 * = Less than 5, or a rate based on less than 5 exclusions (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes both maintained and non-maintained special schools. (3) Includes pupils of compulsory school age and above only, so totals shown here will not match those given previously. Excludes dually registered pupils. Also excludes pupils for whom age is unclassified (27 cases of permanent exclusion). (4) Figures relating to permanent exclusions are estimates based on incomplete pupil-level data. See Notes to Editors 3. (5) The number of excluded pupils expressed as a percentage of the school population of compulsory school age and above in each ethnic group. (6) Includes pupils whose ethnic information was not sought or refused.  Notes: 1. Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. 2. The number of exclusions by ethnicity in secondary schools has been derived from the National Pupil Database. Pupils' ethnicity and gender has been established by linking to their most recent 'on roll1 entry in the School Census 
		
	
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools( 1) : Number of fixed period exclusions by ethnic group and gender( 2) , England, 2005/06 
			  Fixed period exclusions 
			   Boys  Girls  Total 
			   Number  Percentage of school population( 3)  Number  Percentage of school population( 3)  Number  Percentage of school population( 3) 
			  White 170,650 12.27 65,820 4.79 236,480 8.56 
			 White British 165,600 12.30 63,720 4.80 229,320 8.58 
			 Irish 810 13.55 350 5.59 1,160 9.49 
			 Traveller of Irish heritage 240 45.47 90 16.51 330 30.64 
			 Gypsy/Roma 530 46.59 310 26.93 840 36.71 
			 Any other White background 3,470 925 1,360 3.66 4,820 6.47 
			
			  Mixed 7,790 18.83 3,910 9.11 11,690 13.89 
			 White and Black Caribbean 3,970 27.02 2,140 13.54 6,110 20.04 
			 White and Black African 740 18.79 350 8.56 1,090 13.60 
			 White and Asian 870 10.34 380 4.46 1,250 7.41 
			 Any other Mixed background 2,200 15.44 1,040 7.16 3,240 11.25 
			
			  Asian 8,810 7.85 1,640 1.51 10,460 4.73 
			 Indian 1,810 4.50 350 0.90 2,150 2.74 
			 Pakistani 4,750 11.20 860 2.12 5,610 6.77 
			 Bangladeshi 1,410 8.77 260 1.57 1,670 5.10 
			 Any other Asian background 850 6.17 180 1.35 1,030 3.81 
			
			  Black 10,790 18.87 4,610 7.67 15,410 13.13 
			 Black Caribbean 5,040 24.25 2,270 10.20 7,320 16.99 
			 Black African 4,170 14.22 1,760 5.63 5,920 9.79 
			 Any other Black background 1,580 22.28 590 8.72 2,170 15.69 
			
			  Chinese 120 1.84 30 0.50 150 1.18 
			
			  Any other ethnic group 1,430 9.28 380 2.69 1,810 6.11 
			
			  Unclassified( 4) 49,350  18,350  67,700  
			
			  Minority Ethnic Pupils 33,990 12.23 12,680 4.57 46,670 8.40 
			
			  All pupils( 3) 248,940 14.96 94,750 5.77 343,690 10.39 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2 )Includes pupils of compulsory school age and above only, so totals shown here will not match those given previously. Excludes dually registered pupils. Also excludes pupils for whom age is unclassified (140 cases of fixed period exclusion). (3) The number of excluded pupils expressed as a percentage of the school population of compulsory school age and above in each ethnic group. (4) Includes pupils whose ethnic information was not sought or refused.  Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census.

Pupil Referral Units

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of pupil referral units; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The effectiveness of pupil referral units is judged by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) as part of the normal regime for the inspection of schools. Ofsted's latest annual report (2006/07) showed that 52 per cent. of pupil referral units were good or outstanding overall. 33 per cent. were satisfactory and 14 per cent. were inadequate.

Schools: Intimidation

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many incidents of bullying occurred in schools in each local education authority area of England in each year since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: The requested information is not collected centrally.
	Tables showing the number of permanent and fixed period exclusions in each local authority area by reason for exclusion have been placed in the library. This includes a category relating to bullying.

Schools: Sports

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to encourage more school students to participate in competitive sport; and what plans he has to take steps further to improve the rate.

Kevin Brennan: Increasing inter and intra-school sporting opportunities is a key component of the national school sport strategy, which is delivered jointly by the Department for Children Schools and Families and the Department for Culture Media and Sport.
	The 2006-07 school sport survey showed that:
	98 per cent. of schools held a competitive sports day,
	58 per cent. of pupils were involved in intra-school competition, and
	35 per cent. of all pupils were involved in inter-school competition.
	Earlier this year the Prime Minister announced extra funding to extend the number of competition managers to at least 225 by the beginning of 2009. Competition managers are creating a stronger framework for competitive sport and working across primary and secondary schools to increase the amount of competitive sport they offer.
	In addition we are introducing a new national school sport week, championed by Dame Kelly Holmes, to encourage all schools to run sports days and tournaments. This will build on the success of the UK School Games and its impact on motivating young people to take part in competitive sport.

Schools: Sports

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps the Government has taken to assist schools increasing participation in extra-curricular sports.

Kevin Brennan: holding answer 18 December 2007
	 The Departments for Culture, Media and Sport, and Children, Schools and Families, are working together to deliver the National School Sport Strategy. The strategy's current aim is to increase the percentage of five to 16-year-olds participating in at least two hours a week of high quality PE and sport at school and, from 2008/09, the percentage of five to 19-year-olds participating in at least three further hours a week of sporting opportunities, in and out of school.

Secondary Education: Truancy

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the  (a) absence rate and  (b) unauthorised absence rate was in secondary schools with (i) up to and including 500 pupils, (ii) 501 to 1,000 pupils, (iii) 1,001 to 1,500 pupils, (iv) 1,501 to 2,000 pupils and (v) more than 2,000 pupils in the latest period for which figures are available.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Sure Start Programme: Copeland

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how much funding to support the work of Sure Start within Copeland has been provided over the last five years;
	(2)  how many families have accessed health and support from the Sure Start programme within Copeland over the last five years.

Beverley Hughes: The Sure Start Local Programme in Whitehaven, Copeland, received revenue and capital funding directly from the then Department for Education and Skills until March 2006. Since April 2006 revenue funding for all Sure Start Local Programmes (SSLPs) has been included in the General Sure Start Grant allocated to local authorities.
	Funding for Copeland is therefore not allocated separately but is included in Cumbria county council's General Sure Start Grant (from April 2008 the Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant) which includes revenue and capital for Sure Start Children's Centres. Local authorities are responsible for allocating the children's centre funding that they receive from my Department to the Sure Start Children's Centres in their area. In 2006-07 this grant included 3,482,237 in ringfenced revenue funding to support five SSLPs in Cumbria. Cumbria county council, like all other local authorities with ringfenced SSLP funding, has the freedom to determine the level of resource for each individual SSLP in its area. The following table shows allocations for the five financial years between 2002 and 2007.
	
		
			  Cumbria Sure Start allocations 
			   Revenue  Capital 
			   Copeland/Whitehaven  All Sure Start local programmes in Cumbria  All Sure Start children's centres in Cumbria  Copeland/Whitehaven  All Sure Start children's centres in Cumbria 
			 2002-06(1) 3,294,487  831,214 332,196 3,051,844 
			 2006-07(2)  3,482,237 2,353,801  2,277,971 
			 (1) Figures for 'Copeland/Whitehaven' relate to the revenue and capital grant allocated directly to the Sure Start Local programme in Whitehaven for the four financial years between 2002 and 2006. Figures for 'All Sure Start Children's Centres in Cumbria' show revenue and capital funding for the two financial years between 2004 and 2006. (2) The capital allocation for 'All Children's Centres in Cumbria' in 2006-07 includes capital funding for childcare sustainability and extended schools as well as Sure Start Children's Centres. The local authority had the flexibility to decide how much of this capital funding it spent on centres. 
		
	
	Data on the number of families accessing health and support services in Sure Start centres are not collected centrally. Sure Start Whitehaven was originally set up to support 706 children under four and their families, but when it became a Sure Start Children's Centre in 2005 its 'catchment area' was increased to support 900 children under five and their families. Cumbria county council has developed sixteen Sure Start Children's Centres, four of which (including the one based on Sure Start Whitehaven) are in the Copeland area. According to information from Cumbria county council these four centres serve 1,753 children under five and their families.

Truancy

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils in  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools have been classed as persistent truants in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Kevin Brennan: Data which enabled analysis of absence data to include information on persistent absentees were collected for the first time, from secondary schools only, for the academic year 2005/06. The information was published as part of SFR 11/2007 which can be found at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000718/index.shtml
	The latest published data cover autumn term 2006 and spring term 2007 and include data for primary schools. This was published as part of SFR 36/11 and can be found at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000756/index.shtml

Written Questions

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he will reply to the questions  (a) 168899 on services provided by Capita and  (b) 165763 on CfBT Education Trust tabled by the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton on 21 November.

Kevin Brennan: I responded to parliamentary question 165763 on 21 November 2007,  Official Report, column 952W and parliamentary question 168899 on 18 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1254W.

PRIME MINISTER

Deborah Mattinson

Theresa May: To ask the Prime Minister whether Deborah Mattinson has  (a) a desk,  (b) a telephone,  (c) office facilities and  (d) administrative support provided in No. 10 Downing street.

Gordon Brown: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to her by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Edward Miliband) on 18 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1285W.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Prime Minister how much his Office spent on managing its corporate identity in the last 12 month period for which figures are available.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Gillian Merron) on 7 January 2008,  Official Report, column 86W.

WALES

Departmental Parliamentary Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many staff work in his Department's parliamentary branch; and what proportion of their time is spent on dealing with  (a) Parliamentary Questions and  (b) correspondence from hon. Members and Peers.

Peter Hain: My parliamentary branch consists of two full-time members of staff. Written parliamentary questions take up an estimated 30 per cent. of their time and correspondence an estimated 5 per cent.

Members' Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many letters his Department received from hon. Members and Peers in each session of Parliament since 1997.

Peter Hain: Correspondence statistics prior to 2005 can be provided only at a disproportionate cost. The figures for 2005 and 2006 are:
	
		
			   January-December  2005  January-December  2006 
			 Hon. Members 148 48 
			 Peers 6 26

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Charities: Student Unions

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what guidance the Charity Commission has produced on political campaigning by student unions which have charitable status; and when it was last revised.

Gillian Merron: This is a matter for the Charity Commission as the non-ministerial Government Department responsible for the regulation of charities in England and Wales. The chief executive of the Charity Commission will write to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library for the reference of Members.

Delivery Services

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which companies are under contract to  (a) the Cabinet Office,  (b) the Prime Minister's Office and  (c) the Leader of the House's Office to provide mail services.

Gillian Merron: The Prime Minister's Office and the Leader of the House's Office form an integral part of the Cabinet Office Estate. The vast majority of external mail services for the Cabinet Office are provided by Royal Mail. Commercial delivery services are used when a 'same day' service is required within the UK and for time sensitive international deliveries. There are no formal contracts with these companies.
	Internal postal services are provided by the Cabinet Office's total facilities management provider (Ecovert FM). Following a competitive tendering exercise, the Cabinet Office entered into a total facilities management contract with Ecovert FM in April 2002 for a period of seven years, with the option to extend by a further three years.

Departmental Consultants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was paid in consultancy fees by his Department in each year since 1997.

Gillian Merron: Expenditure on consultancy fees incurred in my Department in each year since 1997-98 can be found in the following table.
	
		
			million 
			 1997-98 5.5 
			 1998-99 7.4 
			 1999-2000 10.2 
			 2000-01 10.9 
			 2001-02 16.9 
			 2002-03 13.4 
			 2003-04 15.9 
			 2004-05 12.7 
			 2005-06 22.0 
			 2006-07 14.3 
		
	
	The increased costs in 2005-06 relate mainly to expenditure on shared services feasibility work, SCOPE cross-departmental information strategy, development of the Government Gateway and departmental capability reviews.

Emergencies: Floods

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans the Government has to release a civil contingencies response to a severe flooding scenario.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	DEFRA's Lead Government Department Plan for flooding in England, which is published on the DEFRA website, draws on the arrangements in the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. At national level, flood events will be co-ordinated by DEFRA with escalation of serious flooding to Cabinet Office briefing room (COBR). The operational response is led by the police in Gold Command.
	At the local level, responders are required to assess the risk of flooding and prepare contingency plans accordingly. Where required, the operational response is led by the police in conjunction with other emergency services, local authorities and others including the Environment Agency.

Russell Commission

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 
	(1)  which organisations have received grants from the Russell Commission since March 2006; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the performance of organisations that have received grants from the Russell Commission since March 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Phil Hope) on 3 December 2007,  Official Report, column 849W.

Voluntary Organisations: Finance

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how voluntary organisations that help communities are informed of what funding is available to them.

Gillian Merron: Advice for third sector organisations on where to start looking for funding and finance opportunities is available on the Office of the Third Sector's website at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/funding_finance_support/funding_finance_guidance.aspx
	This site includes details on how third sector organisations can access advice and training to help them apply for funding, as well as providing links to useful documents including, Guide to Government Assistance to the Third Sector, published by the Treasury in 2006. The site also includes links to external sources of information including the Government Funding Portal, an online resource that details central Government grants available to third sector organisations across all Departments, and to Directgov, which includes other useful information, including guidance on how to find local sources of funding.

JUSTICE

Electoral Register

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to bring forward proposals for automatic voter registration to tackle under-representation by minority groups; and if he will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The Government want to ensure that every eligible elector is presented with the opportunity to register to vote through a simple and convenient registration process. However, at present the Government have no plans to introduce automatic electoral registration.
	The franchise arrangements for elections in the UK vary by nationality. In practice, electoral registration officers would not be able to identify an individual's entitlement to vote in each type of election when they come into contact with the local authority because they would also require details of that person's age and nationality to ensure their franchise rights were correctly established. Current legislation also requires an elector to provide a signature when completing the annual canvass form or a rolling registration form. This is an important security requirement.
	The Government want to protect the rights of every eligible person to participate in the UK's democratic process by ensuring complete, accurate and secure electoral registration. The Government continue to monitor electoral registration in the UK to ensure that this is being achieved.

Fraud: Elections

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if the Government will introduce the Northern Ireland system of individual electoral registration in Great Britain to tackle postal vote fraud.

Bridget Prentice: The Government agree with the principle of individual registration but is not yet convinced that it could be implemented in Great Britain (GB) without causing a significant number of eligible electors to fall off the register. Individual registration was introduced in NI in response to specific concerns about the integrity of the electoral register. Any new system of electoral registration in GB would need to be tailored to current circumstances, and in particular would need to address the challenge of under registration in GB, where an estimated 3.5 million eligible electors are not registered to vote.
	The Government have taken extensive steps to tackle postal voting fraud. In the Electoral Administration Act 2006 the Government introduced a number of new measures to tackle postal voting fraud. These include:
	Creating a new offence of falsely applying for a postal vote;
	Requiring postal voters to provide their signature and date of birth, both when they apply for a postal vote and when they return their postal vote at an election; and
	Imposing a duty on the Electoral Registration Officer to ensure electoral registers are accurate and comprehensive.

Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the outcome has been of the examination of individual liability through the review of the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974, with reference to the statement of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State of 16 May 2007,  Official Report, column 705, on corporate manslaughter and homicide.

Anne McGuire: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government are keeping under review the need for further legislation placing duties on individual directors.
	Following its review in 2006, the Health and Safety Commission took steps to strengthen the existing arrangements on directors' responsibilities for health and safety. The Commission will evaluate the impact on directors' behaviour of these steps in the context of wider developments such as the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, and advise Ministers.

Land Registry

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his timetable is for the settlement of the pay award for 2007 for Land Registry staff; for what reasons the settlement has not yet been reached; what the timetable is for the 2008 settlement; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Wills: Land Registry made a formal pay offer to the Unions on 21 December and is aiming to pay the award to staff in February 2008.
	After the publication of the remit guidance preliminary meetings were held with the Unions to obtain their views on what Land Registry should request in its pay remit. The pay remit was initially submitted to the Treasury on 10 August 2007 and, after correspondence with Treasury officials, was resubmitted on 5 October 2007. Land Registry staff have been kept regularly informed of progress of the pay review. Clearance of the pay remit was received from the Treasury on 3 December 2007. Meetings were then held with the Unions on 6 December, 11 December and 19 December.
	Until the 2007 pay review is settled, Land Registry will continue to apply the rules agreed for the 2006 pay settlement that ended on 31 May 2007.
	Land Registry is not in a position to confirm the timetable for the 2008 pay award. However, the target settlement date remains 1 June 2008 and Land Registry will do its utmost to work with the Unions to reach a conclusion as close to 1 June as possible.

Land Registry

Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average cost to the Land Registry was of processing a land registry search for a domestic property in England for the purposes of a sale in 2006-07.

Michael Wills: Land Registry is a trading fund and is required to recover the costs of its operation from fee income, together with a return on average capital employed, currently 3.5 per cent. In 2006-07 Land Registry dealt with 4.38 million official searches in England and Wales. It is not possible to distinguish whether these were on domestic or other types of properties. The estimated cost was 16.25 million, including the return on average capital employed of 3.5 per cent. This gives an average cost of 3.71 per transaction. It is important to note that this information is obtained from sampling exercises and is purely an estimate. Sampling exercises are carried out to inform the required level of Land Registry fees charged to customers. Currently, the fee charged for an Official Search of the Land Register for England and Wales is 3 if the application is made electronically or 6 if made by post or in person. Land Registry does not collect detailed information on resource utilization for non-electronic applications for its statutory land registration services as the administrative cost of doing so would be significant and would have to be passed on to its customers.

Prisoners: Drugs

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the highest number was of drug-related offences committed by one individual in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many offences were drug related, including those not charged but taken into account, in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  what proportion of the total number of offences recorded in the last 12 months were drug related.

Vernon Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
	Data collected centrally on recorded crime do not identify whether offences are drug related. We are unable to provide information on drug related offences committed by individuals or those taken into account. The recorded crime statistics do include the number of specific drug offences; there were 194,302 drug offences, in total, recorded in England and Wales in 2006-07.

Sexual Orientation Regulations 2007

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many claims of discrimination have been made under the Sexual Orientation Regulations 2007 to date.

Barbara Follett: I have been asked to reply.
	We do not hold this data centrally, but to date we are not aware of any claims having been brought.

Voting Rights

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to ensure that 100 per cent. of identifiers of postal votes are checked in election counts for the 2008 local and London elections.

Bridget Prentice: Returning officers are currently required to check personal identifiers on at least 20 per cent. of returned postal votes at elections though they have discretion to check a higher proportion, or all, of the returned postal votes. The Government have indicated in their response to the Electoral Commission's evaluation report 'The introduction of absent voting personal identifiers in England and Wales'(www.justice.gov.uk/publications/absent-voting-identifiers.htm) that they agree with the Commission that no changes to the legislation for the checking of identifiers at elections should be contemplated for implementation in England and Wales prior to 31 May 2008. It is therefore not planned to mandate 100 per cent. checking of returned postal votes at the elections scheduled for May 2008. The Government are committed to the principle that 100 per cent. of returned postal votes should be checked, and work with the Electoral Commission, electoral administrators and software suppliers in order to establish when it will be appropriate and safe to mandate 100 per cent. checking of returned postal votes.

Young Offenders

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many first time entrants to the youth justice system there were in 2006-07.

Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
	Data collected from Youth Offending Teams in England and Wales, and verified by the Youth Justice Board, indicate that there were 93,730 first-time entrants to the criminal justice system during 2006-07.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment was made of the likely responsibilities of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission in determining changes in the numbers of officials employed by the Child Support Agency.

James Plaskitt: Current staffing reductions in the Child Support Agency are part of the Department-wide headcount reduction targets, which relate to the period ending in March 2008. They are not linked to the set up of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, and the Commission has no responsibility for these reductions.

Child Support Agency: Payments

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many requests were made for consolatory payments by the Child Support Agency in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: The information requested is unavailable.

Children: Maintenance

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what procedures will be put in place to monitor the private child maintenance arrangements included in the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill.

James Plaskitt: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission's Information and Support Service will help parents to put in place effective private arrangements by providing information on how to review, renegotiate or re-establish arrangements if they break down. We expect the Commission will provide parents with a template enabling them to calculate, record and agree the terms of their arrangement between themselves. We recognise that maintenance arrangements can last for many years and therefore expect the Commission will also encourage parents to re-contact the Information and Support Service at any point if their arrangement breaks down. Help at this point may include supporting parents across to the statutory maintenance service for a more formal and enforceable arrangement.
	We are also committed to evaluating how the objectives of the redesigned system are being met including looking at the numbers of effective voluntary arrangements. This will be through both qualitative and quantitative research as well as the use of surveys such as the Family Resources Survey.

Departmental Equal Opportunities

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to  (a) promote age diversity in the workplace and  (b) enable older people to gain equal access to training opportunities.

Mike O'Brien: Since 2000, through our Age Positive initiative, we have been strongly promoting the business benefits of employing older people as part of a mixed age workforce.
	Between May 2005 and October 2006 the DWP ran the 'Be Ready' National Guidance campaign to prepare employers for the introduction of workplace age discrimination legislation on 1 October 2006. The launch commenced with a mailing of basic information to 1.4 million employers. The campaign was designed both to raise awareness of age discrimination legislation, and to provide practical guidance to help employers become more age diverse in their employment practices.
	The 'Be Ready' materials were developed with the support and advice of the Age Partnership Group, which consists of leading business and Government bodies including the CBI, TUC, Chambers of Commerce, CIPD, Institute of Directors, DBERR and ACAS. Many of the members and a number of key trade sector organisations worked with us to actively promote the materials through their own employer networks.
	Through our Age Positive initiative we are continuing to promote to employers the benefits of employing older people as part of a mixed age workforce and the adoption of flexible work and retirement policies.
	Opportunities for older people to learn new skills in a changing labour market are essential. We are working with the Department of Innovation Universities and Skills to consider how older workers can be better supported to stay in work.
	There is a wealth of non-age related support already available which can benefit all workers, including older workers, and those seeking to return to the labour market. The level 2 entitlement, Train to Gain, Skills for Life, Information Advice and Guidance, New Deal for Skills and the development of Skills Accounts are all age neutral. Adult learning grant is also available to people over the age of 25. The LSC have allocated a further 16.7 million for adult apprenticeships in 2007-08 and Government will invest 90 million in total over the CSR period to support an additional 30,000 adult apprenticeship places.

Disability Living Allowance: Sight Impaired

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to pay the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance to people with severe sight loss; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: To qualify for the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance, a person must generally have a physical disablement which renders them unable or virtually unable to walk. I have met with representatives of the Royal National Institute for Blind People on their campaign to extend the higher rate component to certain people with severe sight loss. Officials from the Department are in discussion with the Royal National Institute for the Blind on the details of their proposals and the policy implications.

Employment

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of people who were in temporary work and who were seeking permanent work in each year since 1997.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 7 January 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about what estimate has been made for the number and proportion of people who were in temporary work who were seeking permanent work in each year since 1997. (173893)
	Seasonally adjusted estimates for temporary employment levels and reasons for temporary working are published each month in the Labour Market Statistics First Release. Please visit the following link:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/LMS_FR_HS/WebTable03.xls
	These estimates are based on the respondent reason for taking up their present employment, rather than whether they are currently seeking permanent work. Estimates for those who are temporary employees and currently seeking permanent employment are not available.
	Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.

Industrial Health and Safety: Influenza

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the obligations on employers under  (a) the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and  (b) other health and safety legislation to prepare for a potential influenza pandemic; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: In any influenza pandemic, employers will continue to have obligations under health and safety legislation. That legislation is sufficiently flexible to allow employers to tailor their risk assessments to an emergency situation without the need to disapply or suspend any of their responsibilities. The Heath and Safety Executive's website has information for employers to assist them in the event of a pandemic influenza.

Jobcentre Plus: Stroud

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit recipients who  (a) previously signed on at the Dursley Job Centre Plus and  (b) are living in the area previously covered by that office now sign on at the Stroud Job Centre Plus office.

James Plaskitt: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 8 January 2008:
	The Secretary of State has asked Lesley Strathie to reply to your question concerning how many benefit recipients who  (a) previously signed on at the Dursley Jobcentre Plus and  (b) are living in the area previously covered by that office now sign on at the Stroud Jobcentre Plus office. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Ms Strathie as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus. I am replying in her absence as Acting Chief Executive.
	I can confirm that there were 247 Jobseeker's Allowance customers signing with the Dursley office when it closed in March 2005. These customers were invited to register at four alternative Jobcentre Plus officesStroud, Gloucester, Kingswood and Yate.
	There are currently 54 customers from the Dursley area claiming Jobseeker's Allowance. We are not able to identify those customers who registered at the Stroud office when Dursley closed or those who have since registered to sign on at Stroud.
	I hope this is helpful.

Low Incomes: Council Tax

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in relative poverty were paying full council tax in the latest year for which information is available; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The number of households in relative poverty paying full council tax is 2.7 million (before housing costs) and 3.0 million (after housing costs).
	 Notes:
	1. The information shown is for Great Britain in 2005-06.
	2. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the DWP publication 'Households Below Average Income' series, which uses disposable household income, equivalised for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living.
	3. The figures are based on OECD equalisation factors.
	4. The preferred measure of low income is by using a threshold of 60 per cent. of the contemporary median income. This is an internationally recognised measure.
	5. Figures have been presented on both a before housing cost and after housing cost basis. For before housing cost, housing costs (such as rent, water rates, mortgage interest payments, structural insurance payments and ground rent and service charges) are not deducted from income, while for after housing cost they are. This means that after housing cost incomes will generally be lower than before housing cost.
	6. The numbers are in millions rounded to the nearest 100,000.
	 Source: Family Resources Survey, 2005-06

Minimum Wage

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many London-based staff are employed by his Department on the national minimum wage.

Anne McGuire: There are no London-based staff employed by DWP on the national minimum wage. The pay scale minima for all DWP pay scales are set at a higher level.

Part Time Employment

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of  (a) the number of people in part-time work,  (b) the proportion of the workforce in part-time work and  (c) the number of people in part-time work who are seeking full-time work in each year since 1997.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 7 January 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about (a) the number of people in part-time work, (b) the proportion of the workforce in part-time work and (c) the number of people in part-time work who are seeking full-time work in each year since 1997. (173913)
	The attached table gives the number and percentage of part-time people in employment. The information on people in part-time work who are seeking full-time work was provided in response to a previous PQ (ref 173892).
	The LFS estimates at this detailed level are only consistent with the UK population estimates published in February and March 2003 and they do not incorporate the more recent population estimates that are used in the headline LFS series.
	Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Number and percentage of part-time workers in employment, aged 16 and over, April to June 1997 to 2007United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Thousands, except where indicated 
			   Total in employment  Part-time  Part-time workers as percentage of all in employment 
			 1997 26,356 6,700 25 
			 1999 26,876 6,815 25 
			 2001 27,438 6,989 26 
			 2002 27,617 7,134 26 
			 2003 27,863 7,270 26 
			 2004 28,024 7,345 26 
			 2005 28,193 7,288 26 
			 2006 28,339 7,282 26 
			 2007 28,434 7,318 26 
			  Note: Comparable data not available for 1998 or 2000.  Source: ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS).

Pathways to Work

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the numbers moving from incapacity benefits into paid employment in  (a) Wirral and  (b) other Pathways to Work pilot areas; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Wirral is part of the Liverpool and the Wirral Pathways to Work area and received the service provided by Jobcentre Plus from April 2006. To the end of April 2007, a minimum of 230 people moved from an incapacity benefit to employment in Wirral. In the same period, in other Pathways pilot areas a minimum of 12,530 people moved from an incapacity benefit to employment.
	The Government's successful Pathways to Work programme has been running since October 2003 and rolled out over time to 40 per cent. of the country. The programme has achieved over 69,000 job entries. By April 2008 Pathways will be made available to the whole of Great Britain, with provider-led organisations contracted to deliver the service to the remaining 60 per cent. of the country.

Remploy

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether transitional funding will be provided to assist the transfer of ownership of the Remploy factories in  (a) Treforest,  (b) Ystradgynlais and  (c) Brynamman.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 4 December 2007
	The Secretary of State made clear during his recent statement on the modernisation of Remploy that Remploy has been contacted by third parties interested in keeping some form of production or training at six of the sites due for closureLydney, Glasgow Hillington, St. Helens, Treforest, Ystradgynlais and Brynamman. The details of such negotiations are a matter for Remploy.

Social Security Benefits: Personal Records

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what personal account data have been provided by his Department to the National Audit Office in the last 12 months.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 26 November 2007
	As required under the National Audit Office Act of 1983 and the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, the Department provides access to its records relating to the income, expenditure and liabilities appearing in its accounts. The National Audit Office has regular and routine access to all departmental records, including individual records which contain personal account data.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

British Council

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much grant-in-aid the British Council received in each of the last three years.

Kim Howells: The British Council received grant-in-aid totalling 189,210,000 in financial year 2005-06, 188,124,000 in financial year 2006-07, and 192,803,000 in financial year 2007-08. These figures are final as reported in the British Council's annual reports, copies of which are available from the Library of the House.

Gaza

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Gaza.

Kim Howells: We are concerned by the recent violence in Gaza, and call on all parties to restore order to the streets. There is a pressing need to re-open Gaza's crossings for people and goods.
	We remain concerned by the humanitarian situation in Gaza. During 2007, the UK gave over 31 million in aid to the Palestinians. In December, we pledged $500 million over the next three years, and we were pleased at the response of the governments that attended the post-Annapolis Donors' Conference in Paris before Christmas when $7 billion was pledged.

Kosovo

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Kosovo.

Jim Murphy: The status quo in Kosovo is unsustainable. In the absence of agreement between the parties, the Government will continue strongly to support the Ahtisaari proposals for supervised independence as the way forward.

Lebanon

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking to help Lebanon hold democratic elections.

Kim Howells: The UK remains deeply concerned by the political crisis in Lebanon. It is essential for Lebanon's stability that a free, fair and constitutional Presidential election is held without delay. The UK has been working closely with international partners to resolve the crisis, particularly on the UN Security Council and in the EU. I visited Lebanon last month to encourage all parties to resolve their differences by peaceful and democratic means.

Iran

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on relations with Iran; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Iran could be one of the world's great nations, but it needs to make a choice between engagement and co-operation with the international community, or continuing to refuse to abide by its international obligations which will only lead to further isolation. We urge the Iranian regime to make the right choice by suspending their uranium enrichment programme and honouring all of its international commitments including on human rights.

Climate Change

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the contribution of the EU to securing international agreement at Bali on action to tackle climate change.

Meg Munn: At Bali we reached an historic agreement. For the first time all countries agreed to start negotiations to achieve a global climate deal by 2009.
	EU leadership was central. Last March EU leaders committed Europe to becoming the first low carbon major economy by setting ambitious targets for reducing EU greenhouse gas emissions; and they set out the key elements of the future framework, reflected in the Bali action plan.

Guantanamo Bay

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the US administration on Guantanamo Bay; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Government have held detailed discussions with the US Administration about five former UK residents held at Guantanamo Bay. Consequently, the US returned three of the menMr. Jamil El-Banna, Mr. Omar Deghayes and Mr. Abdennour Sameurto the UK in December.
	The US Government have so far declined our request for the release and return of Mr. Aamer and we are no longer in active discussions regarding his transfer to the UK. We are still discussing with the US the case of Mr. Mohammed. We continue to discuss the welfare of both men with the US.

Iraq

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of progress made on redevelopment of Iraq's industrial base.

Kim Howells: Redevelopment of Iraq's industrial sector after decades of conflict, sanctions, underinvestment, corruption and poor management is challenging. We welcome Iraqi efforts to improve infrastructure, pass key legislation, such as the Investment Law, and increase budgetary allocations to key Government Ministries eg Ministry of Industry and Minerals.
	The UK and our partners continue to support investment, job creation and economic reconstruction through Provincial Reconstruction Teams, international compact, and UK-inspired Basra Economic Package.

Pakistan

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will next meet the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend spoke to Prime Minister Soomro on 30 December to express condolences following the murder of Ms Benazir Bhutto and to express the UK's strong support to Pakistan in combating terrorism and for the country's continued transition to democracy. Although my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has no immediate plans to meet Prime Minister Soomro they agreed to stay in close touch by telephone.

Pakistan

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Pakistan.

Kim Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the Statement on Pakistan made by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary in the House on 7 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 21-24.

Pakistan

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Pakistan.

Kim Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the statement on Pakistan and Kenya made by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary in the House on 7 January,  Official Report, columns 21-24.

Burma

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to increase diplomatic pressure on the Burmese regime.

Meg Munn: The United Kingdom is working closely with the United Nations, EU and regional neighbours to bring about diplomatic pressure for change in Burma. We support the United Nations Secretary-General's Good Offices mission, and have secured stronger EU sanctions. Our ambassador in Rangoon regularly raises our concerns with the Burmese Government. We urge Burma's regional partners and China to play a leading role in pursuing political reform in Burma.

Darfur

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress has been made in establishing a UN peacekeeping force for Darfur.

David Miliband: The AU-UN mission in Darfur (UNAMID) assumed authority on 31 December. We are working with the UN, key allies and troop contributing countries to ensure UNAMID is an effective force. UNAMID consists of over 9,000 personnel, out of an eventual strength of 26,000 when fully deployed. It will grow throughout 2008. We have urged the Sudanese Government to co-operate fully on all aspects of force composition and deployment.

Middle East

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what account he takes of the need to ensure the security of Israel and its people and to reduce hardship among Palestinians in his middle east policy.

Kim Howells: We understand Israel's security dilemma and recognise Israel's right to self-defence. However, Israeli actions must be consistent with international law and not cause suffering to innocent civilians.
	In 2007, the UK gave 31 million in aid to the Palestinians and recently committed up to US$500 million over three years. Palestinian hardship and Israeli security can best be tackled through a political process that creates an economically and socially viable Palestinian state at peace with Israel.

Admiralty House: Official Residences

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  for how long the right hon. Member for Ashfield had an official residence in Admiralty House while Minister for Europe;
	(2)  what the total value of payments made by his Department to the Cabinet Office were in respect of the residence of the right hon. Member for Ashfield in Admiralty House.

Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the then Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Hilary Armstrong) to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) on 6 November 2006,  Official Report, column 860W. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office did not make any payments to the Cabinet Office in respect of the residence of my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Mr. Hoon) in Admiralty House.

Alberta Tar Sands

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Canadian counterpart on the environmental consequences of developing the Alberta tar sands; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not had a discussion specifically on the environmental consequences of developing the Alberta oil sands with his Canadian counterpart. But my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has spoken to his Canadian counterpart on a number of occasions to discuss wider environmental issues and the consequences of Climate Change. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary last spoke to Foreign Minister Bernier of Canada at the UN General Assembly on 28 September 2007. He last spoke with Canadian Minister of the Environment, Mr. John Baird, on 16 November 2007. On both occasions the need to address environmental issues in Canada was discussed.

Antarctic

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has raised concerns with the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat on pollution from the sinking of a passenger cruise vessel in Antarctic waters.

Meg Munn: The UK has not raised any concerns with the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat on this issue as the Secretariat has no executive powers to take action. This is a matter for Treaty Parties. We have consulted experts from the British Antarctic Survey, whose initial view is that the environmental impacts from the vessel are likely to be minimal. The M/S Explorer used marine gas oil, which is a light non-persistent fuel. The ship sank in open water, some 50 nautical miles from the nearest point of land and any penguin or seabird colonies. There have been reports of fuel leakage, but this has been dissipating quickly and evaporating in the open water. HMS Endurance is due to arrive in Antarctica shortly and she will use swath bathymetry to accurately locate the position of the vessel on the seabed and report on any visible signs of pollution.
	Tourism and cruise ship safety in Antarctica will be major discussion topics at the next Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Kiev in June 2008. The UK will continue to engage fully with other Treaty Parties in these discussions and will pursue its proposals for measures to strengthen the contingency plans of cruise ships in the Antarctic.

Antarctic

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to make a territorial claim on Antarctica; and what advice he has received on potential conflicts with the Antarctic Treaty Act.

Meg Munn: The UK has no plans to make any new territorial claim on Antarctica; nor would it do so as that would be contrary to the Antarctic treaty.
	The UK has not made any announcements, or final decisions, about any approach to the UN Commission regarding delineation of the outer limits of the continental shelf pertaining to the British Antarctic Territory. The UK will make its intentions known to the Commission prior to the deadline in 2009.
	In making any decision to submit information to the UN Commission for the limits of continental shelf, we will of course respect our obligations under the Antarctic treaty and related agreements. We remain fully committed to the treaty, including its protocol on Environmental Protection 1991, which prohibits indefinitely all activity related to mineral resources, other than scientific research, within the treaty area.

Armenia: Genocide

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what  (a) discussions he has had with and  (b) representations he has received from the Armenian Government on formally acknowledging the loss of life in Armenia between 1915 and 1923 as genocide.

Jim Murphy: The Armenian Government are aware of the Government's position on the events at the beginning of the last century in which so many ethnic Armenians' lives were lost. The Armenian Government have not made representations to the Government to change their position.

Bolivia

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether facilities were offered to Lord Ashcroft during his recent visit to Bolivia by the UK Embassy; and whether the Embassy incurred costs for entertaining him and his party.

Kim Howells: Lord Ashcroft travelled to Bolivia as a member of the party of the visiting hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr. Mitchell). Our embassy in La Paz met and greeted the party at Cochabamba airport and booked (but did not pay for) travel arrangements from Cochabamba to La Paz and back. The ambassador provided accommodation at the residence for one night and hosted a lunch and a dinner for the party as part of their programme. The embassy also covered the costs of interpretation for meetings.
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office guidelines recommend that British embassies overseas, as far as local conditions and circumstances allow, should offer the above facilities to the Leader of the Opposition, Opposition front bench spokesmen and the leaders of other political parties as a matter of course.

Bosnia

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the steps Serbia is taking to hand over those charged with the 1995 Srebrenica massacre for trial in the Hague; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The issue of Serbia's compliance with its International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) obligations arises regularly in ministerial and official-level contacts with EU partners. I discussed this with the then Chief Prosecutor of the ICTY when I met her on 15 October 2007. The EU General Affairs and External Relations Council conclusions of June 2007 recalled that the pace and conclusion of the negotiations on the stabilisation and association agreement would depend inter alia on Serbia's full co-operation with ICTY.

Brussels

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on  (a) travel to and  (b) accommodation and hotels in Brussels in each of the last 11 years.

Meg Munn: This information is not held centrally and it would incur disproportionate cost for officials to collate this information.

Climate Change: EC Action

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the Treaty of Lisbon, if ratified, on development of EU policy to tackle climate change.

Jim Murphy: At the Spring European Council in March 2007, EU leaders agreed that climate change and energy policies must be integrated to enable the EU to become the first high growth, low carbon global economy. This transition is essential to ensure economic, energy and climate security. The Treaty of Lisbon recognises climate change as an important strategic challenge and as a specific objective of EU policy. It provides a new legal base for the EU to act on energy security, liberalising energy markets and promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy, with the specific aim of preserving and improving the environment.

Deomcratic Republic of Congo: Armed Conflict

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects of fighting in eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the people in the region; and what support his Department is providing to peace initiatives in those areas.

Meg Munn: The Government are gravely concerned at the situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has severe humanitarian consequences, hinders development and has the potential to undermine peace and stability in the region. It has led to around 375,000 people being displaced since December 2006 and a widespread problem of brutal sexual violence and other atrocities.
	The UK is committed to finding a lasting solution to the violence. My noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown, and other Ministers have spoken with leaders from the region urging them to look for a political solution to the problems affecting the east of the DRC. We are closely engaged with our international partners in efforts to bring the violence to an end.

Departmental Christmas Cards

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on  (a) Christmas cards and  (b) postage of Christmas cards in 2007.

Meg Munn: Statistics on the expenditure on Christmas cards and the cost of postage of Christmas cards are not collected and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Data Protection

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on the processing of personal data outside  (a) the United Kingdom and  (b) the European economic area.

Meg Munn: By the nature of its function, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) must process personal data both within and outside the United Kingdom and the European economic area. Whether this is carried out by FCO officials or by commercial partners, FCO guidance is written to ensure that all personal data are handled in a way that complies with our obligations under UK law.

Departmental Data Protection

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department or agencies accountable to his Department process personal data outside  (a) the United Kingdom and  (b) the European economic area.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office operates in countries around the world and consequently processes personal data outside both the United Kingdom and the European economic area. The main categories are: visa applications from foreign nationals; details of UK citizens requiring passport or other consular services; and Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff records.

Departmental Languages

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many members of staff in his Department  (a) speak Pashtun and  (b) are training to speak Pashtun.

Meg Munn: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff records list 27 current staff who hold, or have held, a language qualification in Dari, Pashto or Farsi (the languages commonly spoken in Afghanistan and Iran).
	11 FCO officials are currently studying either Pashto or Dari. The FCO is also seeking to recruit Pashto speakers as part of a current campaign seeking external candidates with skills relevant to the FCO.

Departmental Minimum Wage

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many London-based staff are employed by his Department on the national minimum wage.

Meg Munn: None.

EC Working Groups

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had on the European Commission's working programme for 2008.

Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has regular contact with the President of the European Commission and the College of Commissioners. During these contacts, they discuss a range of issues.

EU Development Policy

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the Treaty of Lisbon, if ratified, on EU development policy.

Jim Murphy: The Government believe that, if ratified, the Lisbon Treaty would enhance delivery of EU development policy. It should give EU aid greater coherence and effectiveness.
	For the first time the treaty provides for a clear definition of the legal framework for development co-operation, humanitarian assistance and co-operation with third countries. It places the eradication of poverty as the overarching primary objective of development co-operation, which is consistent with the UK's own International Development Act. The treaty will also enhance the consistency of the EU's external relations and the coherence of all EU policies with development objectives.
	The treaty also promotes efficient and timely decision-making by extending qualified-majority voting to humanitarian aid. The new position of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy will also support better coherence and delivery of European external action, including development assistance.

Gaza: Trade

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the change in the volume of goods moved in and out of the Gaza Strip in the last 12 months.

Kim Howells: The Government do not carry out their own assessments, but rely on information from other bodies including the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). In November 2007, UNOCHA reported that there had been a 44 per cent. drop in the average number of food and animal feed trucks entering monthly into Gaza between the period January to May 2007 and the period June to October 2007.
	The Government are extremely concerned by these reductions in imports and exports which are the result of the closure of Gaza's crossings. We call on all sides to assume their responsibilities in ensuring they reopen as soon as possible, and stand ready to provide appropriate assistance. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development raised the closure of Gaza crossings and its humanitarian impact with the Israeli and Palestinian authorities during his visit in December 2007.
	Further information can be found at:
	http://www.ochaopt.org.documents/GazaStripHumaniotarianFactSheet_2006_11_28.pdf

Iran: Nuclear Power

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department will produce an updated version of the January 2005 document, Iran's Nuclear Programme: A Collection of Documents, column 6443; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will be looking to publish an updated version of the document in the first half of 2008.

Lebanon: Politics and Government

Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in Lebanon; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The security situation in Lebanon remains unpredictable, with tensions running high over the election of a new President. Last month a bomb attack in Beirut killed General Francoise al Hajj and several others. We strongly condemn such attacks, which can only exacerbate tensions at an already difficult time. We urge all Lebanese parties to redouble their efforts to resolve the current crisis by peaceful and democratic means.

Members: Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many letters his Department received from hon. Members and Peers in each session of Parliament since 1997.

Meg Munn: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to hon. Members'/Peers' correspondence. Information relating to 2007 will be published as soon as it has been collated. The report for 2006 was published on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 101-04WS. Reports for earlier years are available in the Library of the House.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely long-term contribution to the Middle East peace process of the Annapolis conference; and what progress has been made in the peace process since the conference took place.

Kim Howells: The parties to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute confirmed in Annapolis their agreement to engage in vigorous and continuous negotiations and to make every effort to conclude an agreement before the end of 2008.
	We believe that Annapolis offers a genuine opportunity to make progress in the Middle East peace process.
	However, there are always difficulties to overcome. But the Paris conference, on 17 December 2007 helped to raise international pledges of more than US$7 billion for the occupied Palestinian territories. As such, it represents a significant contribution to the peace process. It confirmed the unequivocal political support and commitment of international partners, including Arab countries, to support the economic development of the future Palestinian state.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 161-2W, on Middle East: peace negotiations, how much has been spent on the  (a) salaries,  (b) travel costs and  (c) other costs of the four members of staff who have been seconded to Mr Blair's team.

Kim Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has seconded: one Executive Officer equivalent; one Higher Executive Officer equivalent; and one Senior Civil Servant equivalent to work in the right hon. Tony Blair's office. The FCO is funding their salaries. The Department for International Development has seconded one Principal Officergrade six and is funding this salary, allowances and accommodation costs. It would not be appropriate to give salary details as to do so could reveal individuals' salaries.
	Neither the FCO nor the Department for International Development is responsible for ongoing travel or incidental costs.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2007,  Official Report, column 162W, on Middle East: peace negotiations, if he will request the European Union to seek the publishing by the Quartet of details of Mr Blair's team, costs and funding.

Kim Howells: The Government understand that the European Commission has provided 5 million to the UN Development Programme Trust Fund that inter alia supports the Quartet Representative's mission. It will be a matter for the Quartet to determine whether to publish details of Mr. Blair's team, costs and funding.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 161-2W, on Middle East: peace negotiations, how much is available in the UN Development Programme Trust Fund; and what further sums the UK will be providing to the fund in the next 12 months.

Kim Howells: The Government understand that the European Commission has provided 5 million to the UN Development Programme Trust Fund that inter alia supports the Quartet Representative's mission. The UK provided 400,000 to the UN Development Programme Trust Fund on 3 December 2007. The Government have no plans to provide further support at present but will keep under close review how they can best support Mr. Blair's work.

National Identity Register

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans his Department has to make use of data on the National Identity Register when it is established; and what the estimated cost to his Department of that use is.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will be working with the Home Office, prior to the introduction of the National Identity Scheme, to establish how identity information held on the proposed National Identity Register might be used to provide easier access to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's services for our customers. It is too early in the process to establish the detailed costs and benefits.

Nigeria: Oil

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the refusal by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta to take part in peace initiatives in the Delta area of Nigeria on the safety of international oil workers.

Meg Munn: We call on all parties in the Delta to engage in dialogue towards a peaceful solution to the problems of the Delta. Nigerian President Yar'Adua has made resolution of the Delta crisis one of the main priorities for his term in office. Vice President Goodluck Jonathan has been specifically tasked with taking forward dialogue with a range of groups in the Delta and President Yar'Adua has also been personally engaged. In view of this, a Delta summit is intended to be held in early 2008, bringing together federal and state governments, militant groups and representatives from the local community. The UK has offered to support these efforts where we can add value.
	Recently, the Government of Nigeria has demonstrated greater readiness to use the Joint Task Force (JTF), a combined military and civilian police force, to provide greater security in the Delta. The JTF was successful in stopping a particularly intense outbreak of gang violence in Port Harcourt in August 2007. We believe that both the increased dialogue and the use of the JTF have contributed to the fact that there has been a very significant reduction in the number of expatriate kidnappings since early October.
	However, the risk of violence remains high and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) travel advice continues to advise against all travel to the Delta States of Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers, including Port Harcouit. It advises British nationals in these States to leave due to the very high risk of kidnapping and other armed attacks. The FCO also advises against all travel to riverine areas of Cross River State and against all but essential travel to Akwa Ibom State for the same reasons.
	The FCO remains in close contact about security with international oil companies both through UK Trade and Investment and consular officials in Lagos, and through representatives in London and Abuja.

Palestinians: Politics and Government

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in the Palestinian territories.

Kim Howells: We are working closely with our international partners to support the US-led process that was initiated at Annapolis. As both sides have made clear, it is for them to work out a solution. But the international community has offered its support and encouragement and the UK stands ready to help them move forward.
	The UK, along with the rest of the international community, has always made clear its desire to work with those who are committed to peaceful progress in the region. President Abbas is the elected President for all Palestinians. Our priority is to support President Abbas and the legitimate Palestinian government led by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad as they try to restore law and order in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and promote development. We have made clear that we will respond to significant movement from Hamas.

Regulation

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for which regulators and inspectorates his Department has had responsibility in each year since 1997; what the budget was of each such body in each year; and what the cost to the public purse was of any restructuring of each such body in each year.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is not responsible for any Government regulator or inspectorate. The FCO conducts self-inspection through Resource Management Units attached to each geographical or functional Directorate.

Timor-Leste: Homicide

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will meet relatives of British citizens Brian Peters and Malcolm Rennie to discuss the finding of the Coroner of New South Wales in November 2007 on the deaths of Brian Peters, Malcolm Rennie and four others in Timor-Leste in October 1975; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: I currently have no plans to meet with relatives of Brian Peters and Malcolm Rennie. Following the conclusion of the New South Wales coroner's inquest, Foreign and Commonwealth Office consular officials have been in contact with the families of both men to update them on developments in December 2007, and will continue to liaise with them on any future developments.

Timor-Leste: Homicide

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss with the families of Brian Peters and Malcolm Rennie and their representatives the information issued by his Department on the deaths of Mr. Peters and Mr. Rennie in Timor-Leste in 1975 since that date; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: In 2002, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) documents relating to the incident were released exceptionally early to permit the relatives of Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters to see at first hand what the FCO knew about the deaths. The FCO holds no further pertinent information. My hon. Friend the then Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs (Mr. Mike O'Brien) met the relatives of Mr. Rennie and Mr. Peters in September 2003 and March 2004. In December 2007, FCO consular officials wrote to the families of both men to update them on developments following the conclusion of the New South Wales coroner's inquest.

Wilton Park

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many conferences, events or away days have been held at Wilton Park on behalf of the  (a) Deputy Prime Minister's Office,  (b) former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister,  (c) former Valuation Office Agency and  (d) Department for Communities and Local Government since May 2001.

Meg Munn: Since May 2001 there have been no conferences, events or away days held at Wilton Park on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister's Office, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Valuation Office Agency or Department for Communities and Local Government.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Animal Experiments

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it mandatory for holders of licences to use animals in scientific procedures to provide abstracts for publication on her Department's website.

Meg Hillier: The current form of application for a project licence under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 requests that applicants provide in their own words short abstracts of their research proposals to be displayed on the Home Office website. We publish the abstracts to contribute to greater openness, public understanding and debate about the use of animals in science and we actively encourage applicants to provide them. However, abstracts are provided on a voluntary basis and the applicants own the copyright. Compliance with this initiative has generally been good and abstracts have been displayed for 83 per cent. of the project licences granted since the beginning of 2006 to December 2007 and there are currently just over 1,110 published abstracts in total. I consider the current voluntary system to be both proportionate and to have achieved its objective and I have no plans to make the provision of abstracts mandatory.

Burglary: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Metropolitan Police Service is taking to reduce the number of  (a) residential and  (b) non-residential burglaries in Romford.

Tony McNulty: This is a matter for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

Community Policing

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables applied  (a) successfully and  (b) unsuccessfully to become full-time police officers in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: This information is not held centrally.

Community Policing: Humberside

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers there were in each division of Humberside police in each of the last three years.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Police community support officer strength (FTE)( 1)  in Humberside police force area by Basic Command Unit 
			  Basic Command Unit  30 June 2005( 2)  30 June 2006( 2)  31 March 2007( 2) 
			 A Division (North East Lincs) 5 16 29 
			 B Division (North Lincs) 5 15 31 
			 C Division (East Riding of Yorks) 6 20 58 
			 D Division (Kingston-upon-Hull) 6 34 76 
			 (1) These figures are based on full-time equivalents that have been rounded to the nearest whole number, due to rounding there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of constituent items. Figures include those officers on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (2) 2006-07 is the first year that that police community support officer strength by Basic Command Unit has been collected centrally. Figures relating to 30 June are from an ad hoc collection taken by the Home Office Police Productivity Unit. These figures may not be directly comparable to the others in the table.

Emergency Calls: Hearing Impaired

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will introduce a nationwide scheme to enable deaf people to send text messages to the emergency telephone number 999.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 18 December 2007
	The telecommunications service providers, in discussion with the emergency services, have identified technical solutions for providing an emergency SMS for the deaf, and those with hearing or speech impairment. The mobile service providers are currently scoping a trial which will assess the technical feasibility of providing a service to mobile handsets which have been registered for the service.
	The service will provide an alternative option for those who routinely use SMS and either do not use a text relay service or may be in circumstances where it is not available. It is anticipated that the trial will be conducted in the second half of 2008.

Entry Clearances: Employment

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research she has  (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the type of work undertaken in the UK by non-EU citizens who have obtained leave to enter as highly skilled or skilled workers; and what estimate she has made of the number and proportion of skilled workers who are working in the skill sectors relating to the skills on the basis of which they were given leave to enter.

Liam Byrne: Highly skilled non-EU workers can apply to enter the UK under the highly skilled migrant programme (HSMP). HSMP migrants have free access to the labour market and are not given leave to enter to work in a specific skill sector. However, as part of our review of the HSMP changes we introduced last December, we have been collecting data on occupations self-reported by successful applicants extending their stay as HSMP migrants. Review data will be included in the impact assessment for tier 1 of the new points-based system which will be published before the tier is implemented this year.
	 Work permit system (for skilled workers)
	Skilled non-EU workers with a job offer can apply to enter the UK under the work permit system. Under the terms of their leave, work permit migrants must remain with the employer who applied for their work permit. Should the migrant wish to switch employer, they will need to apply for a variation of leave and the new employer will need to obtain a work permit for them. This means that all work permit migrants should be working in the sectors relating to the skills on the basis of which they were given leave to enter.
	We have previously released, in answer to a freedom of information request, data relating to approved work permit applications broken down by the 20 most frequent occupations.
	The following table shows the number of approved work permit applications, broken down by the 20 most frequent occupations, from January 2004 to December 2005.
	
		
			  Occupation  2004  2005  Total 
			 Nurse 29,185 22,406 51,591 
			 Other manager-related occupation 14,697 14,795 29,492 
			 Musician 12,769 12,783 25,552 
			 Other health/medical occupation 13,585 9,758 23,343 
			 Other IT related occupation 9,512 10,615 20,127 
			 Software engineer 6,764 6,771 13,535 
			 Chef 6,365 4,977 11,342 
			 Other financial occupation 5,007 5,226 10,233 
			 Teacher (school/college) 5,101 4,334 9,435 
			 Other engineer occupation 4,223 5,037 9,260 
			 Researcher 4,205 4,299 8,504 
			 Doctor 4,392 3,842 8,234 
			 Singer 3,083 2,769 5,852 
			 Kitchen assistant (SBS) 4,290 508 4,798 
			 Analyst programmer 2,486 2,122 4,608 
			 System analyst 2,284 2,238 4,522 
			 Technician (music) 2,062 2,138 4,200 
			 Other hotel cat occupation 1,858 1,576 3,434 
			 Dancer (other) 1,672 1,680 3,352 
			 Manager (ent-related) 1,534 1,596 3,130 
			 Total top 20 135,074 119,470 254,544 
			 Others 45,666 41,186 86,852 
			 Total 180,740 160,656 341,396 
			  Note: The number of approved work permit applications does not equal numbers of people entering the UK to work but includes, for example, extension applications and work permits issued for a change of employment.

Genetics: Databases

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people had their DNA records removed from the police DNA database in each year since 2000.

Meg Hillier: The numbers of subject sample records removed from the National DNA Database (NDNAD) in each of the financial years from 2002-03(1) to date is given as follows. The figures provided are for subject sample records taken by police forces in England and Wales which were subsequently removed from the NDNAD. They do not include subject sample records taken by police forces in Scotland, the police service for Northern Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey etc. which were subsequently removed from the NDNAD.
	(1) No accurate data are available for the years 2000-01 and 2001-02; some estimated information only is available for calendar years prior to 2002. In 2002, an NDNAD Management Information Database was created which captures details of all record 'transactions' including the removal of records and enabled the collection of this information.
	
		
			   Number of subject sample records removed 
			 2002-03 1,525 
			 2003-04 321 
			 2004-05 42 
			 2005-06 136 
			 2006-07 276 
			 2007-08 (to date) 219

Genetics: Databases

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a Criminal Records Bureau check would return information on whether an individual's DNA was stored on the DNA database.

Meg Hillier: The Criminal Records Bureau has no responsibility for the DNA database. Therefore, it does not return information on whether an individual's DNA is stored on the DNA database.

Genetics: Databases

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of people whose DNA records are held on the National Police Database have  (a) a criminal record,  (b) been the subject of wrongful arrest and  (c) been given a custodial sentence.

Meg Hillier: In relation to the proportion of people whose DNA records are held on the National DNA Database (NDNAD) who have a criminal record, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone) on 13 December 2007,  Official Report, column 761W. This gives figures for the number of persons with a profile on the NDNAD sampled by police forces in England and Wales who have a conviction, caution, formal warning or reprimand recorded on the PNCi.e. who have a criminal record. No data are held centrally on the number of persons with a DNA profile on the NDNAD who have been the subject of a wrongful arrest. No recent data are available on the proportion of people whose DNA records are held on the National DNA Database (NDNAD) who have a conviction and who have been given a custodial sentence. These data could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Homicide

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were murdered in England in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The following table of data relates to the number of homicides recorded by the police in England between 2001-02 and 2005-06. The figure for 2002-03 includes 172 victims of Harold Shipman.
	There was a reduction of 11 per cent. in the number of homicides between 2001-02 and 2005-06. The new Make Communities Safer public service agreement (PSA), effective from April 2008, includes a target to reduce the most serious violence. Many of the actions required to achieve this objective will have an impact on a range of violent and sexual offences, but there will be a particular focus on homicide.
	The Government are developing a wide-ranging programme of work to deliver the new PSA target, and will set out a new framework for tackling violence, based on the identification and management of risk and supporting victims to reduce harm, soon.
	
		
			  Currently recorded homicides( 1)  by police in England( 2) : 2001-02 to 2005-06( 3) 
			  Year( 4)  Number of offences 
			 2001-02 770 
			 2002-03 917 
			 2003-04 764 
			 2004-05 753 
			 2005-06 683 
			 (1) Homicide offences are shown according to the year in which police initially recorded the offence as homicide. This is not necessarily the year in which the incident took place or the year in which any court decision was made. (2) As at 9 October 2006; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. (3) Does not include homicides recorded by British Transport Police. (4) Data for 2006-07 and revised data for the period 1996 to 2005-06 are scheduled to be released in late January 2008.

Human Trafficking

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the planned length of Operation Pentameter II was when it was launched; how long she expects it to continue; what progress has been made by the programme; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: When Operation Pentameter 2 was launched on 3 October 2007 it was expected to draw to a conclusion in spring/summer 2008. This remains the position. The Operation has a number of phases. Intelligence gathering, forward planning and co-ordination of agencies began in July 2007. This in turn led to operational activity being undertaken, following which there will be a period of investigative and operational maintenance, which will include the processing of offenders and the continued support of victims. The precise length of the operational phase is not in the public domain for reasons of operational security.
	The conduct of the operation will be evaluated on its completion and operational results will be published at that stage.

Illegal Workers

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people given Security Industry Authority (SIA) licences who were not legally entitled to work in the UK have worked for  (a) the SIA,  (b) the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) and  (c) companies contracted to work for the SIA or BIA.

Vernon Coaker: Since the commencement of statutory licensing for security operatives by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) there have been no cases of security staff licensed by the SIA found to be working without the right to work for the SIA, or the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA), or companies contracted to work for the SIA or BIA.
	As my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary told Parliament on 13 December, the BIA is prioritising enforcement action in the security industry. As part of this work, the BIA is working with their security sub-contractors to recheck the right to work of all their staff supplied to the BIA.

Members' Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many letters her Department received from hon. Members and Peers in each session of Parliament since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members/Peers correspondence. Information relating to 2007 will be published as soon as it has been collated. The report for 2006 was published on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 101-04WS. Reports for earlier years are available in the Library of the House.

Personation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the level of fraud arising from information on identity stolen from household waste bins.

Meg Hillier: The Government do not have this information recorded centrally.
	We know from the police and other public and private sector partners on the Identity Fraud Steering Committee (IFSC) that personal details for use in identity fraud are obtained in a variety of ways. The IFSC has produced the website www.identity theft.org.uk to advise the public on how to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of identity fraud, warning signs to look out for, and what someone should do if they do fall victim.
	On 9 October 2007 the Attorney-General announced that funding had been approved for the proposals arising from the Government's fraud review. This includes the development of a National Fraud Strategic Authority, together with a National Fraud Reporting Centre, the establishment of the City of London police as the lead force on fraud, and proposals for measurement of fraud. These measures will help to tackle fraud in general and increase our understanding of the nature and extent of the problem.

Police Custody

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the maximum distance persons in police custody should be transported between the place of arrest and a custody suite.

Tony McNulty: The location of police custody facilities is an operational matter for the chief officer of police in each force area.

Police Custody: ICT

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make a statement on the development and provision of electronic custody systems for the police; when such systems are planned to be available; what the expected cost of such systems is expected to be; what the cost of their development to date has been; and what the original planned date for such systems to be available was.

Tony McNulty: All police forces now have an approved electronic custody system. 40 police forces are 'live' at all sites. The remaining three police forces are 'live' in at least one site, but still in the process of implementation in their remaining sites. Implementation will be complete in all forces at all sites by mid-2008. The total cost of implementing the electronic custody systems is not available, as these systems have usually been implemented as part of a suite of other systems (including records management, case preparation and crime and intelligence). It was originally planned that all forces would be 'live' by 31 March 2006.
	Although this target was not achieved, all these electronic custody systems are now providing a significant contribution to the reduction in bureaucracy in the police service and wider criminal justice system.

Police: Age

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in  (a) England and  (b) London were aged (a) 18 to 25, (b) 26 to 30, (c) 31 to 35, (d) 36 to 40, (e) 41 to 45, (f) 46 to 50, (g) 51 to 55, (h) 56 to 60, (i) 61 to 65 and (j) over 65 years in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by (i) sex and (ii) ethnicity.

Tony McNulty: Figures collected by the Home Office on age of officer are broken down by four age groupings and appear in the following table for 31 March 2007. The collection does not extend to gender and ethnicity breakdowns.
	
		
			  Numbers of police officers( 1)  in post on 31 March 2007 by age group, London and England 
			   Age on 31 March 2007 
			   25 and under  26 to 40  41 to 55  Over 55 
			 London(2) 2,549 17,305 12,328 215 
			 England 11,060 72,157 52,367 617 
			 (1) Figures for police officers are on a head count basis, which means both full-time and part-time officers are counted individually as one officer. This differs from the main officer count which is on a full-time equivalent basis. The figures include officers on career breaks and maternity/paternity leave. (2) Includes officers in both the Metropolitan police and City of London police

Police: Bureaucracy

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the time it takes for a police officer to complete the stop and account form after detaining an individual.

Tony McNulty: The Interim Report of the The Review of Policing published by Sir Ronnie Flanagan in September 2007 provides an example showing that the average time taken for completing and processing a stop and account form is 25 minutes. The pilot study carried out by British Transport police on the use of electronic hand held devices to record encounters showed that the average taken to complete and process a stop and account form was six minutes.

Police: Cost Effectiveness

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Gershon efficiency savings to be achieved by the police were; and if she will make a statement on progress towards achieving efficiency savings by the police.

Tony McNulty: The efficiency target set for the police service in the spending review 2004, taking into account the Gershon review, was for the 43 police authorities and forces in England and Wales to deliver aggregate value for money gains of 3 per cent. of net revenue expenditure per annum. Half of the total gains were required to be cashable, and forces and authorities were expected to achieve cumulative total gains of 1,060 million (518 million cashable) over the four years 2004-05 to 2007-08.
	As of April 2007 these targets have been achieved by the police service and are set out in the Home Office targets autumn performance report 2007 which is available in the Library of the House.

Police: Expenditure

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by the police in  (a) England and Wales and  (b) each police force area in each of the last five years on  (i) stationery and  (ii) IT equipment.

Tony McNulty: The information for all police forces in England and Wales is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Decisions on the distribution of resources are matters for the Chief Officer and the Police Authority.

Police: Plastics

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many own-branded plastic bags  (a) the Assets Recovery Agency and  (b) the Serious Organised Crime Agency has procured in the last 24 months for which figures are available; and at what cost.

Vernon Coaker: None.

Police: Powers

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to her Department's Modernising Police Powers, Review of the Police and Criminal Evidence 1984, Consultation Paper of March 2007; if she will list, in relation to street bail, the pilots of electronic stop and search records referred to in Chapter 3; and what the location was of each.

Tony McNulty: The Explanatory Memorandum to the SI 2006/2165 sets out the provision for the use of electronic receipts for stop and search records to officers from the British Transport Police operating from offices in West Ham, Wembley and Hammersmith. The use of street bail is an operational matter for the chief officer of each force area and not subject to pilot studies.

Police: Rural Areas

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make a statement on policing in rural areas.

Tony McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 26 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 196-97W.

Proceeds of Crime

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been recovered under the Confiscation of Criminal Assets Act 2003  (a) in total and  (b) in each police authority area, listed in descending order by amount recovered in each year since its introduction; and how much is in the process of being recovered.

Vernon Coaker: The total net amount of criminal assets recovered from 2003-04 to 2006-07 under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and earlier legislation is 360.5 million.
	The total value of confiscation orders and cash forfeiture orders obtained by each police authority in each of those years is set out in the tables placed in the House Library.
	Enforcement of confiscation orders is not the responsibility of the police but is primarily a matter for Her Majesty's Court Service.
	The total amount of confiscation orders and cash forfeiture orders obtained by all agencies in April-November 2007 is 172.26 million. These orders are in the process of being enforced, along with orders made in previous years.

Right to Gain Entry

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the terms of reference are of the review into the right to gain entry; and whether the review will consider the right to gain entry by public authorities other than the police.

Tony McNulty: The review will examine all powers of entry with a view to: producing a comprehensive list of powers of entry, inspection, search and seizure; considering a statutory framework for all such powers and scrutiny criteria for all proposed new powers; and development of information material for the public to raise awareness for businesses and individuals of their rights and remedies.

Terrorism

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment the Government has made of the effect of  (a) recent and  (b) proposed anti-terrorism legislation on civil liberties and human rights.

Tony McNulty: We believe that our recent and proposed counter-terrorism legislation is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. It will continue to be the case that all of our counter-terrorism measures have to be set in the context of our general commitment to human rights and the protection of individual freedoms. We strive to achieve the appropriate balance between the measures necessary to deal with the very real threat to national security posed by terrorism and the need to avoid diminishing the civil and human rights of the population.

Terrorism: Control Orders

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people who have been acquitted of terrorism charges are subject to control orders restricting their movements.

Tony McNulty: We are not prepared to say how many people who have been acquitted of terrorism charges are subject to control orders restricting their movements. This is because of the need to protect controlled persons' identities (most controlled persons are subject to an anonymity order imposed by the court which prohibits us from publishing information that would allow the public to identify him as being subject to a control order) and the national security sensitivity of individual cases.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government has taken to raise public awareness of the harmful effects of binge drinking.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 17 December 2007
	The Government launched the Know Your Limits campaign in 2006, which targets binge drinkers. This campaign will be renewed in 2008 and will continue to challenge behaviour associated with drunkenness. The campaign has been supported by comprehensive public relations and stakeholder programmes, with sources of help and information provided via a new dedicated campaign website, as well as the Drinkline phoneline and a suite of new campaign literature.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished consultant episodes relating to alcohol there were in each strategic health authority area in England for  (a) patients aged under 18 years and  (b) patients aged 18 years and over in each year from 1997-98 to 2006-07; and how many admissions to hospitals via accident and emergency departments in each strategic health authority area had an alcohol-related diagnosis for (i) those aged 18 years and over and (ii) those aged under 18 years in each of those years.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 17 December 2007
	The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government have taken to educate young people about the long-term effects of alcohol abuse since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: holding answer 13 December 2007
	 I have been asked to reply.
	The Government are committed to reducing substance misuse among young people, including that relating to alcohol. Educating young people about the long and short-term effects of alcohol misuse is a vital part of this.
	Since 1997, efforts have been made to continually strengthen our approach to alcohol education in schools. The Department has issued several guidance documents to schools on drug (including alcohol) education. This includes 'Circular 4/95: Drug Prevention and Schools' and, in 1998, 'Protecting Young People: Good practice in Drug Education in Schools and the Youth Service'. In 2002, curriculum guidance on drug, alcohol and tobacco education was produced and issued to schools by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. Most recently, in 2004, the Department refreshed all existing guidance for schools by issuing a single document, 'Drugs: Guidance for Schools'. This made clear our intention for pupils to be educated about alcohol and its effects in primary school before drinking patterns become established and for this to be revisited in secondary school. It is important that our approach to alcohol education in schools is robust and, for this reason, next year, my Department will undertake a review into the effectiveness of alcohol education and we will strengthen our approach if necessary.
	It is clear, however, that young people need more than drug education in school to inform them about the health harms associated with alcohol misuse. As part of the updated Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy: Safe. Sensible. Social. (2007), the Department for Children, Schools and Families has convened a panel of paediatricians, psychologists and epidemiologists who will produce authoritative, accessible guidance about what is and is not safe and sensible in the light of the latest available evidence from the UK and abroad. This guidance will be issued to young people and their parents to help them make informed decisions about alcohol. Next year, we will also deliver a social marketing campaign in order to foster a culture where it is socially acceptable for young people to choose not to drink and, if they do, to do so later and more safely.

Baby Care Units

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished consultant episodes were provided in specialist neo-natal units in England in each month since January 1997.

Ann Keen: The hospital episode statistics do not allow us to identify whether care has been provided in a particular type of unit or ward.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts use digital mammography for breast cancer screening; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: We do not have this information in the format requested, however we do have it by breast screening programme centre. Exeter, Norwich, Manchester, Coventry, St Bartholomew's, St. Georges, Derby and Addenbrookes all use digital mammography for breast screening. Nationally this means that there are 31 digital mammography sets in the national health service breast screening programme, some are part of equipment evaluations.
	The recently published Cancer Reform Strategy recommends that breast screening units should work with the NHS breast screening programme to develop business cases for digital mammography, that primary care trusts will need to give high priority to full implementation, with all units having at least one full-field digital mammography set by 2010. All women under 50 routinely screened should have Direct Digital available for assessment visits by 2010.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1196W, on breast cancer screening to Question 171702 of 17 December 2007, what assessment he has made of the reasons for Uttlesford's performance on breast cancer screening; and what steps he is taking to improve that performance.

Ann Keen: It is for strategic health authorities (SHAs) working in partnership with their primary care trusts (PCTs), local breast screening services and stakeholders to provide appropriate breast screening services for their local populations.
	However, The East of England SHA has advised that a breast screening issue in West Essex, may have impacted on Uttlesford PCT (old PCT area) not reaching the 75 per cent. national aspirational standard for breast screening in that area.
	The East of England SHA has advised that any backlog will be cleared by April 2008.

Cancer: Waiting Lists

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost to the NHS of collecting the data used to monitor progress against his Department's cancer waiting time targets in 2007-08.

Ann Keen: The Department is unable to give an estimate of the cost incurred by the national health service in monitoring the waiting times targets. The NHS is funded to provide cancer services, and monitor local delivery of those services within the targets in the NHS Cancer Plan (2000), but local NHS organisations are not required to report these costs centrally.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the time taken by each primary care trust to inform women of the results of their cervical smear tests; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not collected, however we do know the time from the cervical sample being taken to the availability of the test result, shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Cervical screening programme: time from screening to availability of result by strategic health authority (SHA) and primary care trust (PCT) 2006-07 
			  Number and percentage 
			 Total letters sent by PCT (=100%)( 1)  Up to 4 weeks (%)  4 weeks up to 6 weeks (%)  6 weeks up to 8 weeks (%)  8 weeks up to 10 weeks (%)  10 weeks up to 12 weeks (%)'  Over 12 weeks (%)  Letters not sent by PCT 
			   England 3,353,285 48.3 25.8 13.6 7.1 3.7 1.6 270,383 
			
			 Q30  North East SHA 165,701 43.0 19.3 18.8 12.9 5.4 0.6 26,003 
			  5E1 North Tees PCT 13,085 14.5 52.4 31.3 1.5 0.2 0.1 380 
			  5D7 Newcastle PCT 19,664 60.5 20.3 17.7 1.1 0.3 0.1 316 
			  5D8 North Tyneside PCT 16,312 56.4 23.9 17.7 1.5 0.3 0.2 299 
			  5D9 Hartlepool PCT 5,823 16.5 50.9 31.2 1.3 0.1 0.1 167 
			  5J9 Darlington PCT 7,947 34.7 21.8 36.5 6.6 0.3 0.1 88 
			  5KF Gateshead PCT 14,981 30.1 3.7 11.1 33.6 19.3 2.3 246 
			  5KG South Tyneside PCT 10,513 41.6 1.8 3.7 30.1 20.6 2.3 74 
			  5KL Sunderland Teaching PCT 17,426 75.0 3.1 9.2 6.2 6.1 0.5 151 
			  5KM Middlesbrough PCT 8,974 46.1 20.5 11.6 19.7 1.8 0.3 299 
			  5ND County Durham PCT 39,985 32.7 17.6 24.9 18.5 5.7 0.6 472 
			  5QR Redcar and Cleveland PCT 8,774 48.8 19.4 11.1 18.7 1.8 0.2 279 
			  TAC Northumberland Care Trust 2,217 50.7 28.4 18.3 1.8 0.5 0.1 23,232 
			
			 Q31  North West SHA 484,632 55.4 26.2 9.6 5.1 2.9 0.9 6,779 
			  5CC Blackburn with Darwen PCT 10,054 59.5 30.1 9.6 0.6 0.1 0.1 67 
			  5F5 Salford PCT 14,047 65.4 30.6 2.4 1.0 0.4 0.1 315 
			  5F7 Stockport PCT 22,009 89.6 8.5 1.3 0.3 0.1 0.2 368 
			  5HG Ashton, Leigh and Wigan PCT 21,116 15.4 32.8 22.4 21.2 7.7 0.5 242 
			  5HP Blackpool PCT 8,474 97.3 2.2 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.1 104 
			  5HQ Bolton PCT 19,171 47.4 29.1 18.5 4.5 0.3 0.2 195 
			  5J2 Warrington PCT 15,129 38.7 51.0 9.5 0.6 0.1 0.1 246 
			  5J4 Knowsley PCT 10,059 71.5 24.7 2.7 0.7 0.3 0.1 107 
			  5J5 Oldham PCT 15,923 16.6 26.5 14.0 15.3 22.8 4.8 222 
			  5JX Bury PCT 15,085 16.4 15.3 28.2 23.3 15.3 1.5 218 
			  5LH Tameside and Glossop PCT 17,394 15.0 12.3 7.2 34.8 17.5 13.1 200 
			  5NE Cumbria PCT 35,551 60.9 30.9 7.8 0.3 0.1 0.0 374 
			  5NF North Lancashire PCT 19,153 90.3 7.7 1.9 0.1 0.0 0.1 263 
			  5NG Central Lancashire PCT 30,250 81.3 15.2 3.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 344 
			  5NH East Lancashire PCT 26,903 81.4 12.9 3.7 0.9 0.6 0.4 234 
			  5NJ Sefton PCT 17,527 59.9 36.4 3.4 0.2 0.1 0.1 222 
			  5NK Wirral PCT 22,316 52.0 23.1 22.9 1.6 0.2 0.1 216 
			  5NL Liverpool PCT 28,155 51.6 39.4 6.8 1.5 0.5 0.2 368 
			  5NM Halton and St. Helen's PCT 23,195 62.8 27.7 7.8 1.2 0.4 0.1 219 
			  5NN Western Cheshire PCT 17,672 48.6 44.5 6.2 0.5 0.1 0.1 298 
			  5NP Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT 34,749 41.2 37.9 16.8 3.7 0.3 0.1 539 
			  5NQ Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT 15,816 16.1 15.5 29.5 23.1 14.6 1.3 187 
			  5NR Trafford PCT 14,544 70.0 28.3 1.3 0.3 0.1 0.1 448 
			  5NT Manchester PCT 30,340 66.5 29.2 2.3 0.8 0.7 0.5 783 
			
			 Q32  Yorkshire and the Humber SHA 326,566 65.4 24.2 7.6 1.9 0.5 0.4 7,680 
			  5AN North East Lincolnshire PCT 9,017 82.9 13.8 2.7 0.4 0.2 0.1 417 
			  5EF North Lincolnshire PCT 8,598 82.6 13.5 3.2 0.5 0.1 0.1 577 
			  5H8 Rotherham PCT 15,010 93.5 4.6 1.4 0.4 0.1 0.1 204 
			  5J6 Calderdale PCT 11,991 52.4 28.3 15.4 3.8 0.1 0.1 224 
			  5JE Barnsley PCT 15,545 14.1 46.7 29.4 7.0 0.8 2.0 278 
			  5N1 Leeds PCT 40,597 46.7 43.1 7.5 1.9 0.5 0.3 1,288 
			  5N2 Kirklees PCT 23,168 57.3 28.8 11.0 2.6 0.2 0.1 424 
			  5N3 Wakefield District PCT 24,685 16.0 53.9 25.3 3.8 0.7 0.2 380 
			  5N4 Sheffield PCT 34,972 98.3 1.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.1 510 
			  5N5 Doncaster PCT 21,879 98.2 1.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.3 187 
			  5NV North Yorkshire and York PCT 52,067 81.7 15.6 1.3 0.7 0.2 0.5 2,364 
			  5NW East Riding of Yorkshire PCT 22,778 72.1 16.5 7.9 1.9 1.4 0.2 342 
			  5NX Hull Teaching PCT 20,340 70.9 15.0 9.3 2.8 1.6 0.3 114 
			  5NY Bradford and Airedale Teaching PCT 25,919 43.3 47.1 5.6 2.6 0.9 0.6 371 
			
			 Q33  East Midlands SHA 268,583 39.9 21.4 9.7 11.2 12.6 5.2 49,261 
			  5EM Nottingham City PCT 23,094 54.6 17.9 7.7 4.8 5.5 9.5 231 
			  5ET Bassetlaw PCT 8,291 96.6 1.9 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.7 90 
			  5N6 Derbyshire County PCT 54,074 36.5 40.8 12.2 6.4 3.1 1.1 594 
			  5N7 Derby City PCT 20,788 51.4 42.4 5.2 0.3 0.2 0.4 205 
			  5N8 Nottinghamshire County PCT 53,352 50.9 25.9 9.6 5.0 3.3 5.4 533 
			  5N9 Lincolnshire PCT 5,902 71.4 17.9 6.4 2.8 0.8 0.8 34,811 
			  5PA Leicestershire County and Rutland PCT 44,860 10.6 4.2 11.7 29.4 33.6 10.6 506 
			  5PC Leicester City PCT 20,619 9.4 2.0 11.5 31.6 33.9 11.6 166 
			  5PD Northamptonshire PCT 37,603 48.2 13.9 9.0 7.8 18.2 2.9 12,125 
			
			 Q34  West Midlands SHA 372,212 55.6 25.7 11.0 5.3 1.5 1.0 8,271 
			  5CN Herefordshire PCT 11,013 79.0 17.7 2.5 0.5 0.2 0.0 201 
			  5M1 South Birmingham PCT 23,424 69.5 27.1 2.9 0.2 0.1 0.2 566 
			  5M2 Shropshire County PCT 20,474 51.9 42.7 4.7 0.5 0.1 0.2 282 
			  5M3 Walsall Teaching PCT 18,831 83.0 14.4 1.9 0.3 0.1 0.1 339 
			  5MD Coventry Teaching PCT 20,893 8.7 16.5 33.1 26.7 7.3 7.7 351 
			  5MK Telford and Wrekin PCT 11,493 49.2 41.0 8.1 1.3 0.2 0.2 115 
			  5MV Wolverhampton City PCT 17,307 21.5 46.9 24.0 4.6 1.6 1.2 224 
			  5MX Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT 17,436 57.6 30.4 8.7 2.0 0.7 0.6 520 
			  5PE Dudley PCT 23,937 21.5 31.6 29.0 15.1 2.4 0.5 343 
			  5PF Sandwell PCT 20,000 77.8 13.3 5.7 2.4 0.7 0.2 969 
			  5PG Birmingham East and North PCT 25,977 75.1 20.2 3.3 0.8 0.2 0.4 740 
			  5PH North Staffordshire PCT 15,126 85.8 10.8 2.1 0.6 0.2 0.4 135 
			  5PJ Stoke on Trent PCT 19,346 88.4 9.3 1.5 0.4 0.2 0.2 116 
			  5PK South Staffordshire PCT 42,767 66.3 24.1 6.9 1.2 0.5 1.1 521 
			  5PL Worcestershire PCT 28,539 46.1 25.9 19.2 6.6 1.9 0.3 1,088 
			  5PM Warwickshire PCT 40,519 39.8 26.1 15.2 13.3 4.2 1.5 1,091 
			  TAM Solihull Care Trust 15,130 42.4 47.3 6.6 2.6 0.8 0.3 670 
			 Q35  England  3,353,285 48.3 25.8 13.6 7.1 3.7 1.6 270,383 
			   East of England SHA 341,727 40.4 36.4 15.9 4.8 1.4 1.0 39,102 
			  5GC Luton Teaching PCT 8,944 77.1 18.9 3.2 0.3 0.1 0.4 3,749 
			  5P1 South East Essex PCT 19,651 38.6 40.6 20.1 0.5 0.1 0.2 1,903 
			  5P2 Bedfordshire PCT 21,819 39.9 21.4 22.6 8.8 3.4 3.9 8,547 
			  5P3 East and North Hertfordshire PCT 29,183 23.8 39.2 31.1 3.2 1.7 1.1 6,149 
			  5P4 West Hertfordshire PCT 31,541 6.8 48.0 26.9 10.8 4.8 2.8 10,016 
			  5PN Peterborough PCT 10,263 72.5 14.0 8.3 5.0 0.2 0.1 162 
			  5PP Cambridgeshire PCT 37,297 59.3 36.6 2.9 0.9 0.1 0.2 1,238 
			  5PQ Norfolk PCT 42,727 21.2 56.2 20.3 2.1 0.2 0.1 2,054 
			  5PR Great Yarmouth and Waveney Teaching PCT 13,913 25.5 47.1 23.7 3.3 0.3 0.1 251 
			  5PT Suffolk PCT 42,895 52.5 44.1 2.8 0.4 0.1 0.1 807 
			  5PV West Essex PCT 15,655 41.7 39.0 11.9 5.5 1.2 0.7 1,183 
			  5PW North East Essex PCT 18,523 48.0 17.2 11.9 19.1 1.7 2.0 873 
			  5PX Mid Essex PCT 25,193 26.0 27.6 27.2 12.5 5.4 1.3 679 
			  5PY South West Essex PCT 24,123 79.8 10.7 6.7 1.0 0.3 1.4 1,491 
			
			 Q36  London SHA 600,406 32.1 29.2 21.8 10.2 4.4 2.3 25,563 
			  5A4 Havering PCT 15,887 32.3 26.7 32.1 7.1 1.1 0.7 236 
			  5A5 Kingston PCT 12,769 54.1 29.8 9.8 6.0 0.1 0.2 597 
			  5A7 Bromley PCT 26,535 23.8 46.6 28.0 1.3 0.1 0.2 882 
			  5A8 Greenwich Teaching PCT 18,994 34.7 35.1 25.0 3.8 0.8 0.6 606 
			  5A9 Barnet PCT 24,545 9.0 15.7 33.4 17.1 19.4 5.3 826 
			  5AT Hillingdon PCT 16,814 58.8 27.8 9.0 1.9 1.1 1.3 554 
			  5C1 Enfield PCT 19,321 9.9 13.8 35.0 21.1 16.5 3.8 617 
			  5C2 Barking and Dagenham PCT 10,109 31.2 22.0 34.5 10.6 1.1 0.7 248 
			  5C3 City and Hackney Teaching PCT 18,971 21.4 19.2 28.9 19.0 9.8 1.8 614 
			  5C4 Tower Hamlets PCT 14,688 22.2 19.2 29.4 19.2 9.0 1.1 546 
			  5C5 Newham PCT 20,156 13.8 18.1 32.2 23.4 11.0 1.5 394 
			  5C9 Haringey Teaching PCT 20,185 8.1 14.3 41.4 27.9 5.4 3.0 828 
			  5H1 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 13,436 5.3 18.2 21.1 20.0 15.7 19.9 1,533 
			  5HX Ealing PCT 25,805 10.8 25.9 21.2 25.0 12.1 4.9 1,703 
			  5HY Hounslow PCT 18,493 22.6 30.7 19.2 15.3 9.6 2.5 1,011 
			  5K5 Brent Teaching PCT 22,628 62.0 21.9 7.5 3.5 2.2 2.8 719 
			  5K6 Harrow PCT 14,951 69.6 23.0 4.4 1.3 0.9 0.9 381 
			  5K7 Camden PCT 16,357 25.6 33.4 30.5 6.7 1.6 2.2 1,157 
			  5K8 Islington PCT 18,621 17.0 35.1 41.4 5.0 0.8 0.7 917 
			  5K9 Croydon PCT 21,977 57.8 39.0 2.4 0.4 0.2 0.1 936 
			  5LA Kensington and Chelsea PCT 12,066 32.8 19.6 15.0 13.5 6.5 12.6 1,142 
			  5LC Westminster PCT 15,199 47.6 20.1 11.8 9.0 4.4 7.1 1,749 
			  5LD Lambeth PCT 29,826 28.3 42.1 19.3 8.5 1.0 0.8 1,186 
			  5LE Southwark PCT 24,436 33.8 42.4 15.4 7.0 0.8 0.6 735 
			  5LF Lewisham PCT 24,649 29.2 49.7 19.2 1.2 0.2 0.6 675 
			  5LG Wandsworth PCT 28,770 55.7 36.5 5.0 1.9 0.4 0.5 1,758 
			  5M6 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 14,763 53.5 26.5 10.1 6.6 2.1 1.1 959 
			  5M7 Sutton and Merton PCT 29,292 35.1 37.3 20.5 6.1 0.6 0.4 1,163 
			  5NA Redbridge PCT 15,902 26.1 17.9 41.4 11.6 1.7 1.3 264 
			  5NC Waltham Forest PCT 17,195 18.6 20.0 34.5 23.4 2.3 1.2 267 
			  TAK Bexley Care Trust 17,066 58.6 33.5 6.9 0.8 0.1 0.1 360 
			
			 Q37  South East Coast SHA 289,784 55.6 19.9 10.9 6.7 4.1 2.9 12,560 
			  5L3 Medway PCT 17,834 54.0 26.2 14.9 4.4 0.2 0.3 873 
			  5LQ Brighton and Hove City PCT 17,206 5.2 1.6 44.6 17.9 4.3 26.5 1,097 
			  5P5 Surrey PCT 78,343 71.5 14.0 2.0 5.4 6.2 0.8 3,458 
			  5P6 West Sussex PCT 48,591 25.5 29.6 14.6 16.1 10.9 3.3 1,718 
			  5P7 East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 21,215 67.5 10.7 12.3 4.0 1.0 4.5 637 
			  5P8 Hastings and Rother PCT 11,818 98.7 0.8 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 192 
			  5P9 West Kent PCT 47,328 33.2 42.0 18.0 4.6 1.3 0.9 2,083 
			  5QA Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 47,449 85.3 10.8 2.7 0.9 0.2 0.1 2,502 
			
			 Q38  South Central SHA 241,280 39.1 29.3 17.8 9.2 3.5 1.1 35,820 
			  5CQ Milton Keynes PCT 14,171 6.7 10.7 30.9 21.2 23.4 7.2 3,533 
			  5FE Portsmouth City Teaching PCT 9,497 18.9 39.8 21.9 9.5 7.8 2.0 1,718 
			  5L1 Southampton City PCT 12,377 5.3 12.1 40.8 40.7 1.1 0.1 2,878 
			  5QC Hampshire PCT 69,022 19.5 32.9 30.7 14.3 2.3 0.3 14,500 
			  5QD Buckinghamshire PCT 31,515 58.2 16.6 9.0 7.3 6.8 2.1 7,620 
			  5QE Oxfordshire PCT 42,285 71.0 25.4 2.1 0.6 0.3 0.6 1,951 
			  5QF Berkshire West PCT 29,486 24.4 57.4 14.9 1.5 1.1 0.7 1,464 
			  5QG Berkshire East PCT 23,993 72.2 20.6 5.3 1.5 0.4 0.1 1,745 
			  5QT Isle of Wight PCT 8,934 51.1 37.6 10.2 1.0 0.1 0.0 411 
			
			 Q39  South West SHA 262,394 62.8 17.8 9.9 5.9 3.3 0.3 59,344 
			  5A3 South Gloucestershire PCT 14,463 73.9 24.2 1.1 0.4 0.3 0.0 336 
			  5F1 Plymouth Teaching PCT 15,893 55.9 27.7 14.6 1.6 0.1 0.2 278 
			  5FL Bath and North East Somerset PCT 10,392 38.4 8.6 19.1 15.4 18.2 0.2 316 
			  5K3 Swindon PCT 12,421 14.1 26.4 17.0 28.6 12.4 1.4 324 
			  5M8 North Somerset PCT 11,235 70.0 26.7 1.9 0.8 0.6 0.1 447 
			  5QH Gloucestershire PCT 3,656 35.2 40.6 17.3 4.5 1.5 0.8 34,265 
			  5QJ Bristol PCT 24,288 73.0 25.5 1.2 0.2 0.1 0.0 717 
			  5QK Wiltshire PCT 24,423 20.8 20.5 22.9 17.5 17.3 1.0 836 
			  5QL Somerset PCT 22,644 86.8 4.4 3.3 2.8 2.6 0.2 7,115 
			  5QM Dorset PCT 20,320 85.5 11.2 2.5 0.4 0.1 0.2 5,517 
			  5QN Bournemouth and Poole PCT 18,077 98.3 1.4 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 7,351 
			  5QP Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT 33,428 25.7 28.8 31.0 13.6 0.7 0.2 716 
			  5QQ Devon PCT 42,455 88.5 9.0 2.1 0.3 0.0 0.1 978 
			  TAL Torbay Care Trust 8,699 77.1 22.4 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.1 148 
			 (1) Information on the time from taking a sample to the availability of a result are only available where the letters are produced by the PCT.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care

Childbirth

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many babies in England were born underweight in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what assessment he has made of the principal causes of babies being underweight at birth.

Ann Keen: In 2005-06, the latest year for which we have figures, 42,900 babies were born with birthweights of less than 2,500g. The major cause of low birthweight is low gestational age. This information is from NHS Maternity Statistics, England 2005-06, a copy of which is available in the Library.

Dental Services: Portsmouth

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list NHS dentists in Portsmouth indicating which are registering new NHS patients.

Ann Keen: National Health Service Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) Dental Services Division (DSD) can only provide validated information on the number of NHS dental practices within a constituency offering NHS dental care only at disproportionate cost. Some NHS treatment attracts patient charges.
	The number of dentists are available in Annex G of the 'NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report, England: 31 March 2006'. A copy of this report is available in the Library.
	Information is available at strategic health authority (SHA) and primary care trust (PCT) area in England 31 March 1997 to 31 March 2006.
	Information is based on the old contractual arrangements. The report is also available on-line at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-activity-and-workforce-report-england-31-march-2006
	The number of NHS dentists year ending 31 March 2007 are available in Table E2 of Annex 3 of the 'NHS Dental Statistics for England 2006- 07 report'. Information is available at SHA and PCT area in England.
	Since April 2006, patients no longer have to be registered with a dental practice to receive NHS care and treatment.
	The closest equivalent current measure is the number of patients receiving NHS dental services (patients seen) in a given area over a 24-month period, for that area. However, this is not directly comparable to the registration data for earlier years.
	The numbers of patients seen in the 24 month periods ending 31 March 2006 and 31 March 2007 are available in Table Cl of Annex 3 of the 'NHS Dental Statistics for England 2006-07 report'. Information is available at SHA and PCT area in England.
	A copy of this report is available in the Library and is also available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental0607

Doctors: Housing

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2007,  Official Report, column 714W, on doctors: housing, if he will make available the minutes of the meetings with the Junior Doctors Committee on the provision of accommodation.

Ann Keen: The minutes have been agreed between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the four health Departments. The BMA has no objection to the release of the extract from the Joint Negotiation Committee (Juniors) minutes. This information has been placed in the Library.

Drugs: Misuse

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the likely effect of changes to the 2008 budget for the Young People's Substance Misuse service in Hampshire.

Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
	No announcements have been made in relation to future budget allocations for Young People's Substance Misuse services. However young people and prevention are to be a key priority within the new Drugs Strategy, which is currently being developed in Government under the leadership of the Home Office and will be published in 2008.

Drugs: Misuse

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the 2008 budget is for the Young People's Substance Misuse service in Hampshire; and what the budget was in each of the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
	(a) Consultation on the development of the new Drug Strategy which is due to be published in the new year concluded on 19 October 2007. Details of individual local authority funding allocations for the next financial year will be announced following publication of the Drugs Strategy.
	(b) Funding allocations for the Young People's Substance Misuse service in Hampshire in the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			
			 2007-08 911,015 
			 2006-07 1,051,461 
			 2005-06 1,059,508 
			 2004-05 1,037,807 
			 2003-04 127,803

Heart Diseases: Medical Equipment

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the draft guidance on drug eluting stents proposed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on the provision of  (a) percutaneous coronary intervention and  (b) coronary artery bypass grafting by the NHS if the draft guidance on drug eluting stents remains unchanged; what estimate he has made of the financial effect of any such change in provision; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is reviewing its October 2003 guidance on the use of drug-eluting stents for the treatment of coronary artery disease. NICE is currently considering the responses it has received from stakeholders during the recent consultation on its draft recommendations.
	NICE expects to publish final guidance in March 2008 so it would be inappropriate to comment at this time.

Heart Diseases: Medical Treatments

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what proportion of patients with coronary heart disease have been treated with  (a) coronary artery bypass operations,  (b) drug-eluting stents and  (c) bare metal stents in each year since guidance on the use of coronary artery stents was issued by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence in 2003 in (i) England, (ii) each strategic health authority and (iii) each NHS trust;
	(2)  what proportion of patients with coronary heart disease have received  (a) coronary artery bypass operations and  (b) percutaneous coronary interventions in each year since guidance on the use of coronary artery stents was issued by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence in 2003 in (i) England, (ii) each strategic health authority and (iii) each NHS trust.

Ann Keen: It is not possible for the Department to answer these questions because of the way relevant data are collected. Hospital episode statistics (HES) data counts each period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, known as an episode. These figures do not represent numbers of actual patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within a year.
	The information provided in the following table is HES data showing the number of episodes that patients with a coronary heart disease diagnosis have had. This may be of interest to the hon. Member.
	
		
			  Count of finished consultant episodes with a diagnosis mention of  coronary  heart disease and a procedure mention of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) or insertion of prosthesis: Data for NHS Hospitals, England for 2003-04 to 2005-06 
			   Finished consultant episodes 
			  Procedure  2005-06  2004-05  2003-04 
			 CABG 21,749 23,721 23,631 
			 PTCA 55,559 50,062 41,470 
			 Insertion of prosthesis into organ 44,190 37,425 30,938 
			  Notes: Ungrossed Data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  Finished Consultant Episode (FCE) An FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.  All Diagnoses count of episodes These figures represent a count of all FCE's where the diagnosis was mentioned in any of the 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in a HES record. ICD10 Diagnosis code used: Coronary Heart Disease = I20-I25  Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. During the years that these records have been collected the NHS there have been ongoing improvements in quality and coverage. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example a number of procedures may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and may no longer be accounted in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time.  Data Quality Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS Trusts and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  All Operations count of Episodes These figures represent a count of all FCE's where the procedure was mentioned in any of the 12 (four prior to 2002-03) operation fields in a HES record. A record is only included once in each count, even if an operation is mentioned in more than one operation field of the record. Procedure codes used (OPCS 4.2): CABG = K40-46 PTCA = K49-50 Insertion of Prosthesis into Organ = Y02.2

Hospitals: Consultants

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library copies of  (a) the business case that his Department provided to HM Treasury in 2002 on the new contract for consultants and  (b) HM Treasury's response to the business case.

Ann Keen: The business case for new contracts for national health service staff formed part of the discussions between the Department and HM's Treasury during the 2002 Spending Review, which concluded in July 2002. It is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.

Hospitals: Drugs

Kevin Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of medication errors made in hospitals at each stage of the medication process in  (a) accident and emergency departments and  (b) other settings in hospital in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The precise number of medication errors taking place in national health service hospitals is not known.
	Comprehensive information concerning the number of patient safety incidents reported via the National Patient Safety Agency's National Reporting and Learning System was published in Patient Safety Observatory Report Safety In Doses in July 2007.
	The report reviewed 60,000 medication incidents reported across the NHS between January 2005 to June 2006.
	Information from this report concerning incidents from accident and emergency departments and acute hospitals is shown in tables 1 and 2.
	
		
			  Table 1: Medication incidents reported from accident and emergency (AE) departments: January 2005 to June 2006 
			  Stage of medication process  Incidents 
			 Administration/supply of a medicine from a clinical area 1,278 
			 Monitoring/follow-up of medicine use 100 
			 Preparation of medicines in all locations/dispensing in a pharmacy 160 
			 Prescribing 342 
			 Other 56 
			 Total 1,936 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Medication incidents reported from acute hospitals (not AE): January 2005 to June 2006 
			  Stage of medication process  Incidents 
			 Administration/supply of a medicine from a clinical area 27,505 
			 Monitoring/follow-up of medicine use 1,896 
			 Preparation of medicines in all locations/dispensing in a pharmacy 7,339 
			 Prescribing 7,491 
			 Other 886 
			 Total 45,117

Hospitals: Drugs

Kevin Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of patients harmed by medication error in hospital in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The precise number of patients harmed by medication errors in hospital each year is not known.
	However, the National Patient Safety Agency's national reporting and learning system (NRLS) receives reports of patient safety incidents of actual harm involving medicines.
	All national health service hospital trusts in England and Wales were connected to the NRLS by January 2005. Since this date, the number of medication incident reports has increased as NHS reporting culture and methods have improved. Increasing numbers should not be interpreted as increasing numbers of incidents but rather an increase in the number of incidents that are reported.
	
		
			   Number of NRLS reports involving medicines where harm has been reported 
			 April 2004 to March 2005 1,106 
			 April 2005 to March 2006 6,001 
			 April 2006 to March 2007 9,702 
			 April 2007 to November 2007 6,544 
			 Total 23,338

Hospitals: Drugs

Kevin Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of patients who died as a result of medication error in hospital in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The following table provides information about reports to the national reporting and learning system (NRLS) about patients involving medicines.
	
		
			   Number of fatal NRLS reports involving medicines 
			 April 2004 to March 2005 12 
			 April 2005 to March 2006 5 
			 April 2006 to March 2007 27 
			 April 2007 to November 2007 24 
			 Date not available 17 
			 Total 78

Hospitals: Drugs

Kevin Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has made to reduce the rate of medication error in hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has issued a number of safer practice recommendations to the national health service during 2007 concerning high risk medicines and practices. The topics selected are informed or triggered by reports to the national reporting and learning system by the NHS.
	 Patient Safety Alerts
	Safer practice with anticoagulants
	Promoting safer measurement and administration of liquid medicines via oral and other enteral routes
	Safer use of injectable medicines
	Safer use of epidural injections and infusions
	Reducing the risk of hyponatraemia with intravenous infusions in children
	These were issued on 28 March 2007.
	 Rapid Response Reports
	In addition to these alerts, the NPSA issued three rapid response reports on medication topics between June and September 2007 to alert the NHS to medication risks and actions to minimise them. These included:
	risk of confusion between cytarabine and liposomal cytarabine;
	risk of confusion between non-lipid and lipid formulations of injectable amphotericin; and
	fire hazard with paraffin-based skin products on dressings and clothing.
	 Design for Safety Information
	The NPSA has also issued design for safety booklets on a number of medication topics to promote safe design with pharmaceutical manufacturers, and dispensaries in both primary and secondary care.
	 Patient Safety Guidance From NICE and the NPSA
	On 12 December 2007, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and the NPSA issued patient safety guidance on medicines reconciliation when patients are admitted to hospitals.
	 Implementation
	The NPSA is working with the local organisations, the Healthcare Commission, and Healthcare Purchasers to ensure that these safe practice recommendations are implemented. Health care organisations are also recommended to produce a medicine management report annually to describe local risks with medicines and how these risks are being managed.

Hospitals: Drugs

Kevin Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the rate of medication error in hospitals at each stage of the medication process; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Estimates of the rates of medication errors in hospitals at each stage of the medication process have been made from published United Kingdom research. The results are not directly comparable and depend on the definition of medication error used in respective studies.
	For example, most studies on medication errors during administration exclude the administration of injectable medicines and find an error rate of between 5-10 per cent. Where research have examined administration errors with injectable medicines, error rates of up to 49 per cent. have been reported.
	
		
			  Stage of medication process  Estimates of rate of medication error (Percentage) 
			 Prescribing 1-11 
			 Dispensing 1-2 
			 Administration (and where appropriate preparation) 3.5-49 
			 Monitoring (1) 
			 (1) No overall estimate. 
		
	
	Not all medication errors have caused or have the potential to cause harm. Those that are associated with harm are called adverse drug events.

Hospitals: Food

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government plan to take to improve the quality of food provided for patients in hospitals.

Ann Keen: holding answer 7 January 2008
	An appropriate diet, based on acceptable standards, requires good food with the right nutritional content, properly prepared and available when patients need it. The details of how that diet is provided are for local determination. Work to support trusts in delivering good food and nutritional care is provided via a wide range of mechanisms.
	The national health service plan stipulated that dieticians should advise and check on nutritional values in hospital food. Nutritional information is available for all recipes in the national dish selector, and this can be used to assess local nutritional levels. Ingredients specifications for the recipes have been developed by the Purchasing and Supply Agency to ensure that wholesome, high quality and value-for-money ingredients are used.
	The Food Standards Agency has published (voluntary) nutrient and food based guidance for major institutions. This guidance aims to assist caterers and consumers to achieve the Government's healthy eating recommendations. This advice feeds into the cross Government agenda on diet and food procurement. The Agency has also published example menus to assist caterers in meeting this guidance.
	The quality of hospital food is measured annually via Patient Environment Action Team assessments. These showed an increase from 17 per cent. good in 2002 to over 46 per cent. excellent in 2007. (There was no excellent category in 2002, when a three-point scale was used).
	To identify and deal with patients at risk, we have introduced protected mealtimes and have renewed the emphasis on nutritional screening. These two areas of work are being actively pursued by the National Patient Safety Agency.
	My hon. Friend the Parliamentary-Under Secretary of State (Mr. Lewis) hosted two nutrition summits as part of his dignity in care work. A wide range of stakeholders attended. Following these summits, we launched the Nutrition Action Plan Improving Nutritional Care on 30 October 2007. There will be ongoing monitoring of how stakeholders and their work have contributed to the aims of the plan through a nutrition action plan delivery board. The delivery board will be accountable to my hon. Friend and will produce a progress report in summer 2008.

Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital-acquired infections there were in  (a) the West Suffolk Hospital,  (b) the Walnuttree hospital, Sudbury and  (c) the Newmarket hospital in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: Information is not available in the format requested as information is collected by national health service trust only. The following tables show the number of hospital acquired infections in West Suffolk Hospital trust for the three year period 2004-06 which is the latest data available.
	
		
			   Name of NHS trust 
			  Number of  Clostridium difficile  reports for patients  Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust  West Suffolk Hospitals 
			  Aged  =65 years   
			 July to September 2006 99 107 
			 October to December 2006 115 97 
			 January to March 2007 143 99 
			 April to June 2007 119 95 
			
			  Aged  2-64 years   
			 April to June 2007 46 12 
			  Source: Health Protection Agency (HPA) 
		
	
	
		
			   Name of NHS trust 
			  Incidence of MRSA  Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust  West Suffolk Hospitals 
			 July to September 2006 23 8 
			 October to December 2006 20 6 
			 January to March 2007 14 5 
			 April to-June 2007 15 5 
			  Source: HPA 
		
	
	
		
			   Name of NHS trust 
			  GRE( 1)  bacteraemia reports  Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust  West Suffolk Hospitals 
			 1 October 2003 to 30 September 2004 41 5 
			 1 October 2004 to 30 September 2005 46 2 
			 1 October 2005 to 30 September 2006 61 7 
			 (1) Glycopeptide Resistant Enterococci blood stream infections  Source: HPA

Industrial Diseases

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the role of miners' welfares in combating diseases, with particular reference to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Ann Keen: In the financial year commencing 1 April 2007 the Department gave 34,000 from their Section 64 scheme to the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation for them to provide personal, community and social support services to mining and ex-mining communities and their residents, for those with problems resulting from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
	The Department is also currently developing a national services framework for COPD, which will result in national standards and markers of good practice. It will improve the quality of and access to COPD services, reducing inequalities and reduce health care utilisation costs.
	The advice will pay particular attention to the need to reduce variations in outcomes, including those associated with ethnicity, social deprivation and social exclusion.
	An expert reference group will produce advice for Ministers by January/February 2008. The COPD NSF will be published in 2008 with implementation at the start of 2009.

Industrial Diseases

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in  (a) Bassetlaw and  (b) England; and what proportion of these worked in heavy industry such as mining.

Ann Keen: The quality and outcomes framework (QOF) part of the General Medical Services contract requires practices to record patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OPD). The number of patients for practices in Bassetlaw for the financial year 2006-07 was 2,153. The corresponding figure for England was 765,806.
	The number of people with COPD who work in heavy industry is not collected centrally.
	 Note:
	Coverage of QOF
	Patients will only contribute to the figures in QOF if they are registered with a general practice participating in QOF.

Industrial Diseases

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths there were as a result of  (a) chronic bronchitis and  (b) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the last year for which figures are available.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 7 January 2008:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths there were as a result of (a) chronic bronchitis and (b) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the last year for which figures are available. I am replying in her absence. (174677)
	The latest figures available refer to deaths registered in England and Wales in the calendar year 2006. There were 23,319 deaths with an underlying cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(1), of which 230 had an underlying cause of chronic bronchitis(2).
	(1) Selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes J40-J44.
	(2) Selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes J40-J42.

Industrial Diseases

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of regional variations in the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Ann Keen: The quality and outcomes framework (QOF) part of the General Medical Services contract requires practices to record patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The prevalence in each primary care trust (PCT) for the year 2006-07 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease unadjusted prevalence 
			  PCT code  PCT name  Percentage 
			 5HG Ashton Leigh and Wigan PCT 1.8 
			 5C2 Barking and Dagenham PCT 1.2 
			 5A9 Barnet PCT 0.8 
			 5JE Barnsley PCT 2.5 
			 5ET Bassetlaw 2.0 
			 5FL Bath and North East Somerset PCT 1.2 
			 5P2 Bedfordshire PCT 1.1 
			 5QG Berkshire East PCT 0.9 
			 5QF Berkshire West PCT 0.9 
			 TAK Bexley Care Trust 1.3 
			 5PG Birmingham East and North PCT 1.4 
			 5CC Blackburn with Darwen PCT 1.9 
			 5HP Blackpool PCT 2.3 
			 5HQ Bolton PCT 1.8 
			 5QN Bournemouth and Poole PCT 1.3 
			 5NY Bradford and Airedale PCT 1.7 
			 5K5 Brent PCT 0.6 
			 5LQ Brighton and Hove City Teaching PCT 1.0 
			 5QJ Bristol PCT 1.5 
			 5A7 Bromley PCT 1.1 
			 5QD Buckinghamshire PCT 1.0 
			 5JX Bury PCT 1.7 
			 5J6 Calderdale 1.6 
			 5PP Cambridgeshire PCT 1.2 
			 5K7 Camden PCT 0.8 
			 5NP Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT 1.5 
			 5NG Central Lancs PCT 1.6 
			 5C3 City and Hackney Primary Care Team 0.8 
			 5QP Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT 1.6 
			 5ND County Durham PCT 2.3 
			 5MD Coventry PCT 1.4 
			 5K9 Croydon PCT 0.7 
			 5NE Cumbria PCT 1.9 
			 5J9 Darlington PCT 1.8 
			 5N7 Derby City PCT 1.5 
			 5N6 Derbyshire County PCT 1.7 
			 5QQ Devon PCT 1.4 
			 5N5 Doncaster PCT 2.4 
			 5QM Dorset PCT 1.4 
			 5PE Dudley PCT 1.3 
			 5HX Ealing PCT 0.7 
			 5P3 East and North Hertfordshire PCT 1.1 
			 5NH East Lancs PCT 2.0 
			 5NW East Riding of Yorkshire PCT 1.6 
			 5P7 East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 1.4 
			 5QA Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 1.6 
			 5C1 Enfield PCT 0.8 
			 5KF Gateshead PCT 2.2 
			 5QH Gloucestershire PCT 1.3 
			 5PR Great Yarmouth and Waveney Teaching PCT 1.9 
			 5A8 Greenwich PCT 1.1 
			 5NM Halton and St. Helens PCT 2.2 
			 5H1 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 1.0 
			 5QC Hampshire PCT 1.1 
			 5C9 Haringey PCT 0.7 
			 5K6 Harrow PCT 0.7 
			 5D9 Hartlepool PCT 2.2 
			 5P8 Hastings and Rother PCT 1.5 
			 5A4 Havering PCT 1.4 
			 5MX Heart of Birmingham PCT 0.7 
			 5CN Herefordshire PCT 1.3 
			 5NQ Heywood Middleton and Rochdale PCT 1.7 
			 5AT Hillingdon PCT 1.1 
			 5HY Hounslow PCT 0.7 
			 5NX Hull PCT 1.7 
			 5QT Isle of Wight NHS PCT 1.4 
			 5K8 Islington PCT 1.1 
			 5LA Kensington and Chelsea PCT 0.8 
			 5A5 Kingston 0.8 
			 5N2 Kirklees PCT 1.4 
			 5J4 Knowsley 2.8 
			 5LD Lambeth PCT 0.7 
			 5N1 Leeds PCT 1.6 
			 5PC Leicester City PCT 1.1 
			 5PA Leicestershire County and Rutland PCT 1.2 
			 5LF Lewisham PCT 1.0 
			 5N9 Lincolnshire PCT 1.8 
			 5NL Liverpool PCT 2.3 
			 5GC Luton 1.0 
			 5NT Manchester PCT 1.8 
			 5L3 Medway PCT 1.3 
			 5PX Mid Essex PCT 0.9 
			 5KM Middlesbrough PCT 2.4 
			 5CQ Milton Keynes PCT 1.2 
			 5D7 Newcastle upon Tyne PCT 1.9 
			 5C5 Newham Primary Care Team 0.8 
			 5PQ Norfolk PCT 1.6 
			 5PW North East Essex PCT 1.4 
			 SAN North East Lincolnshire PCT 1.9 
			 5NF North Lancs PCT 1.9 
			 5EF North Lincolnshire PCT 1.7 
			 5M8 North Somerset PCT 1.5 
			 5PH North Staffordshire PCT 1.7 
			 5E1 North Tees PCT 1.9 
			 5D8 North Tyneside PCT 2.0 
			 5NV North Yorkshire and York PCT 1.4 
			 5PD Northamptonshire PCT 1.3 
			 TAC Northumberland Care Trust 2.2 
			 5EM Nottingham City PCT 1.4 
			 5N8 Nottinghamshire County Teaching PCT 1.6 
			 5J5 Oldham PCT 1.7 
			 5QE Oxfordshire PCT 1.0 
			 5PN Peterborough PCT 1.3 
			 5F1 Plymouth PCT 1.5 
			 5FE Portsmouth City PCT 1.4 
			 5NA Redbridge PCT 0.7 
			 5QR Redcar and Cleveland PCT 2.4 
			 5M6 Richmond and Twickenham 0.9 
			 5H8 Rotherham PCT 2.2 
			 5F5 Salford PCT 2.3 
			 5PF Sandwell PCT 1.7 
			 5NJ Sefton PCT 2.1 
			 5N4 Sheffield PCT 1.6 
			 5M2 Shropshire County PCT 1.5 
			 TAM Solihull Care Trust 1.4 
			 5QL Somerset PCT 1.5 
			 5M1 South Birmingham PCT 1.5 
			 5P1 South East Essex PCT 1.4 
			 5A3 South Gloucestershire PCT 1.2 
			 5PK South Staffordshire PCT 1.4 
			 5KG South Tyneside PCT 2.9 
			 5PY South West Essex PCT 1.4 
			 5L1 Southampton City PCT 1.6 
			 5LE Southwark PCT 1.1 
			 5F7 Stockport PCT 1.6 
			 5PJ Stoke-on-Trent PCT 1.8 
			 5PT Suffolk PCT 1.3 
			 5KL Sunderland Teaching PCT 2.8 
			 5P5 Surrey PCT 1.0 
			 5M7 Sutton and Merton PCT 1.0 
			 5K3 Swindon PCT 1.5 
			 5LH Tameside and Glossop PCT 2.1 
			 5MK Telford and Wrekin PCT 1.6 
			 TAL Torbay Care Trust 1.7 
			 5C4 Tower Hamlets Primary Care Team 1.2 
			 5NR Trafford PCT 1.4 
			 5N3 Wakefield District PCT 2.3 
			 5M3 Walsall Teaching PCT 1.5 
			 5NC Waltham Forest PCT 0.8 
			 5LG Wandsworth PCT 0.8 
			 5J2 Warrington PCT 1.6 
			 5PM Warwickshire PCT 1.2 
			 5PV West Essex PCT 1.2 
			 5P4 West Hertfordshire PCT 1.1 
			 5P9 West Kent PCT 1.2 
			 5P6 West Sussex PCT 1.3 
			 5NN Western Cheshire PCT 1.5 
			 5LC Westminster PCT 0.7 
			 5QK Wiltshire PCT 1.3 
			 5NK Wirral PCT 2.2 
			 5MV Wolverhampton City PCT 1.4 
			 5PL Worcestershire PCT 1.3 
			  Notes: 1.Coverage of QOF. Patients will only contribute to the figures in QOF if they are registered with a general practice participating in QOF. 2.The prevalence is the number of patients on the COPD register divided by the total number of patients expressed as a percentage.

Medicine: Animal Experiments

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps were taken to ensure that the leaflets produced by his Department and the then Department of Trade and Industry, Where do medicines come from? contained a balanced assessment of the issues concerning the use of animals; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The leaflet Where do medicines come from? was produced by the independent Coalition for Medical Progress (CMP). The CMP is an alliance of organisations from across the biomedical research community whose task is to address public reservations that arise over the use of animals in achieving advances in medicine. CMP aims to establish better communication between the biomedical research community and the general public in the United Kingdom. The Government fully support the aims of the CMP.

NHS: Information

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends the full national implementation of information prescriptions to take place.

Ann Keen: Information prescriptions are currently being piloted in 20 sites across England. Using the learning from the pilots we intend to implement information prescriptions nationally in 2008.

North Bristol Trust

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his plans are for the repayment of the one-off borrowing by North Bristol Trust as part of its financial recovery programme; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 13 December 2007
	We have agreed with the South West Strategic Health Authority (SHA) that the one off borrowing will be repaid in full to the Department, within the next five years. The SHA and North Bristol NHS Trust are currently constructing the details of the repayment.

North West Health Brussels Office: Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the expenditure was of the North West Health Brussels Office in the last year for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: In 2006-07, the last year for which budgets are fully available, North West Health Brussels Office (NWHBO) received 163,800 from a range of North West Regional stakeholders including:
	The NHS Public Health Networks of Greater Manchester, Cumbria and Lancashire, and Cheshire and Merseyside (each representing North West Primary Care Trusts).
	North West Strategic Health Authority.
	North West Regional Development Agency.
	Health Protection Agency - North West.
	Centre for Public Health - Lancaster University.
	The NWHBO function in 2006-07 was managed by a regional stakeholder group and employment and financial matters were managed by Sefton primary care trust.
	From April 2007, the service has been managed through a revised stakeholder group and commissioned on behalf of regional partners by Liverpool primary care trust.

Organs: Trade

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the extent of the illegal trade in human organs in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: We have no evidence of an illegal trade in human organs in the United Kingdom. The Human Tissue Act 2004 makes it an offence to give or receive a reward for the supply, or offer of human material for transplantation. Most importantly it makes trafficking in tissue and cells for transplantation liable to a fine, imprisonment or both. All potential living donors are assessed by a Human Tissue Authority (HTA) trained and accredited independent assessor, who is required to specifically look for evidence of coercion, payment and reward. The HTA must also be satisfied that there is no evidence of payment or reward and that consent has been given before it can approve the transplant and will prosecute cases of commercial dealing or trafficking.

Prostate Cancer: Health Services

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress has been made in implementation of the Prostate Cancer Risk Management programme; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The Prostate Cancer Risk Management programme (PCRMP) was introduced in 2002 to help general practitioners and practice nurses in advising men without symptoms of prostate cancer on the implications of having a public service agreement test.
	The PCRMP empowers men to make an informed choice on whether or not to have a test based on their own lifestyles and values.
	An evaluation of the PCRMP was funded by the Department to help inform the future direction of the programme and the PCRMP pack is currently being revised.
	A consultation will be published in the spring, with the intention of launching the revised PCRMP packs in the summer of 2008. The revision will take full account of the results of the Prostate Cancer in Ethnic Subgroups study, which showed that black men are three times more likely to develop prostate cancer compared to white men, and the new National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence clinical guideline, Prostate cancer: diagnosis and treatment, which is due to be published in February 2008.

Radiotherapy

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many radiotherapy fractions were delivered by each primary care trust in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: We do not hold information centrally on the number of radiotherapy fractions that were delivered by each primary care trust in each of the last three years. The latest national information available is in the National Radiotherapy Advisory Group Report Radiotherapy: developing a world class service for England which the Department published in May 2007. The report sets out fractions per linac per year, averaged across a radiotherapy department, in paragraphs 45 and 46. It showed that the median radiotherapy centre gave 7,400 fractions per linac and on average 16 out of 39 centres delivered more than 8,000 fractions per linac. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.

Skin Cancer

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of melanoma have been reported in each primary care trust area in each year since 1997.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 7 January 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many cases of melanoma have been reported in each year since 1997, broken down by primary care trust area. (174681)
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) for England are for the year 2004. Numbers of cases of melanoma in England by primary care trust in each year since 1997 are given in Table 1 below.
	
		
			  Table  1 : Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of malignant melanoma of skin( 1) , persons, England and primary care organisations( 2,3)  within strategic health authority, 1997-2004 
			  Area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 England 5,025 5,134 5,315 5,963 6,365 6,615 6,874 7,363 
			  
			  North East 
			 County Durham 48 41 47 60 76 82 72 71 
			 Darlington 11 8 29 19 14 22 27 14 
			 Gateshead 21 15 12 22 26 30 23 17 
			 Hartlepool 5 5 7 12 5 9 8 10 
			 Middlesbrough 13 13 11 12 8 16 22 17 
			 Newcastle 22 19 27 23 35 17 24 24 
			 North Tees 12 10 13 9 18 25 14 22 
			 North Tyneside 12 23 23 23 24 23 26 26 
			 Northumberland 26 29 46 23 34 44 41 50 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 14 9 12 14 15 22 17 20 
			 South Tyneside 12 10 10 9 17 16 14 19 
			 Sunderland Teaching 25 26 46 23 36 41 30 37 
			  
			  North West 
			 Ashton, Leigh and Wigan 21 22 18 35 27 34 33 48 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 15 5 12 15 7 17 11 15 
			 Blackpool 14 15 23 14 21 15 23 17 
			 Bolton 23 21 22 32 34 24 23 33 
			 Bury 19 12 19 18 12 32 19 25 
			 Central and Eastern Cheshire 43 59 50 67 73 69 62 85 
			 Central Lancashire 51 41 50 57 47 77 78 73 
			 Cumbria 68 61 72 68 57 74 75 79 
			 East Lancashire 33 37 43 36 42 55 59 61 
			 Halton and St. Helens 27 22 31 25 42 46 32 31 
			 Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale 17 15 20 22 22 15 13 20 
			 Knowsley 12 10 15 18 17 16 22 23 
			 Liverpool 36 40 32 45 45 42 55 70 
			 Manchester 27 25 28 30 36 44 21 26 
			 North Lancashire 41 34 45 60 54 60 52 48 
			 Oldham 14 22 18 14 16 26 22 25 
			 Salford 17 15 29 16 16 11 15 26 
			 Sefton 42 21 39 36 51 43 56 41 
			 Stockport 32 46 37 50 40 44 49 47 
			 Tameside and Glossop 15 27 18 26 25 29 34 42 
			 Trafford 28 25 29 41 38 37 33 41 
			 Warrington 12 25 18 15 16 24 21 20 
			 Western Cheshire 11 11 27 41 39 30 32 42 
			 Wirral 31 29 29 38 39 43 38 34 
			  
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 
			 Barnsley 15 14 20 7 10 21 8 13 
			 Bradford and Airedale 42 39 44 44 47 44 48 53 
			 Calderdale 21 18 24 17 22 24 26 30 
			 Doncaster 17 20 14 36 24 41 25 42 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 26 45 22 36 51 51 56 50 
			 Hull 15 15 13 15 15 16 17 15 
			 Leeds 79 76 84 72 109 105 126 122 
			 North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus 16 12 12 18 16 16 13 23 
			 North Lincolnshire 3 10 14 18 15 21 13 14 
			 North Yorkshire and York 82 109 97 90 126 132 135 134 
			 Rotherham 14 24 21 16 26 19 30 65 
			 Sheffield 51 34 37 52 66 48 82 124 
			 Wakefield District 22 28 28 34 46 42 54 39 
			  
			  East Midlands 
			 Bassetlaw 9 19 13 12 14 11 12 10 
			 Derby City 26 23 20 29 28 22 29 39 
			 Derbyshire County 57 57 68 74 84 96 91 113 
			 Leicester City 23 16 16 17 35 19 20 15 
			 Leicestershire County and Rutland 59 39 58 91 88 76 92 96 
			 Lincolnshire 43 63 56 74 78 79 68 114 
			 Northamptonshire 75 86 84 98 92 100 98 94 
			 Nottingham City 22 21 18 15 18 24 17 27 
			 Nottinghamshire County 66 72 44 82 59 86 97 123 
			  
			  West Midlands 
			 Birmingham East and North 28 23 21 31 39 46 35 40 
			 Coventry Teaching 26 28 24 30 32 27 39 48 
			 Dudley 16 27 38 43 34 30 38 52 
			 Heart of Birmingham Teaching 10 10 8 7 8 7 9 14 
			 Herefordshire 19 24 31 26 23 30 31 30 
			 North Staffordshire 18 22 24 29 30 31 19 28 
			 Sandwell 21 20 17 22 22 19 26 24 
			 Shropshire County 38 32 34 22 37 26 41 60 
			 Solihull 26 24 28 34 36 26 38 49 
			 South Birmingham 24 33 21 27 25 43 40 46 
			 South Staffordshire 59 84 71 56 74 102 81 68 
			 Stoke on Trent 18 15 29 19 41 22 13 24 
			 Telford and Wrekin 10 18 16 13 13 16 17 18 
			 Walsall Teaching 17 21 20 19 19 30 25 23 
			 Warwickshire 54 67 59 64 87 86 91 99 
			 Wolverhampton City 20 15 20 20 17 24 17 23 
			 Worcestershire 66 69 66 69 92 93 101 112 
			  
			  East of England 
			 Bedfordshire 38 54 52 50 57 47 36 54 
			 Cambridgeshire 48 68 80 85 86 84 100 71 
			 East and North Hertfordshire 36 47 49 51 50 48 75 73 
			 Great Yarmouth and Waveney 29 32 33 27 27 31 43 39 
			 Luton 16 12 18 18 24 21 14 15 
			 Mid Essex 50 32 33 49 26 27 37 35 
			 Norfolk 87 87 92 99 110 105 126 137 
			 North East Essex 20 47 47 64 50 50 50 46 
			 Peterborough 9 22 14 16 19 22 20 19 
			 South East Essex 34 42 53 45 29 28 57 50 
			 South West Essex 39 31 27 32 31 39 33 40 
			 Suffolk 58 75 71 66 82 89 105 93 
			 West Essex 22 37 33 29 28 35 34 16 
			 West Hertfordshire 55 37 56 57 57 54 55 39 
			  
			  London 
			 Barking and Dagenham 10 14 10 16 17 10 11 13 
			 Barnet 27 24 21 23 20 23 24 31 
			 Bexley 23 33 27 33 20 23 24 22 
			 Brent Teaching 8 13 9 18 14 15 18 10 
			 Bromley 49 42 51 31 22 24 11 8 
			 Camden 19 30 15 17 13 22 13 18 
			 City and Hackney Teaching 8 7 12 11 11 11 15 10 
			 Croydon 29 27 43 36 37 26 48 37 
			 Ealing 12 19 19 14 21 12 18 13 
			 Enfield 11 17 15 21 19 11 22 14 
			 Greenwich Teaching 11 14 17 19 21 13 14 13 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 6 21 9 9 11 6 6 15 
			 Haringey Teaching 12 21 9 12 11 11 16 13 
			 Harrow 18 10 14 14 5 8 14 16 
			 Havering 19 24 28 32 34 30 32 19 
			 Hillingdon 11 12 9 14 10 12 5 14 
			 Hounslow 10 6 13 7 8 16 13 12 
			 Islington 20 10 12 14 14 10 13 13 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 14 16 10 14 18 15 20 14 
			 Kingston 15 18 11 19 17 24 13 21 
			 Lambeth 12 15 19 25 15 18 14 20 
			 Lewisham 19 12 26 14 15 13 11 18 
			 Newham 4 8 (4) 11 5 5 5 5 
			 Redbridge 13 11 10 15 9 7 25 19 
			 Richmond and Twickenham 24 21 16 18 29 17 22 24 
			 Southwark 14 5 19 7 16 4 10 17 
			 Sutton and Merton 40 37 30 55 38 40 46 43 
			 Tower Hamlets 6 4 10 6 5 8 7 7 
			 Waltham Forest 13 14 8 18 6 9 19 9 
			 Wandsworth 22 29 24 29 34 26 29 32 
			 Westminster 7 14 15 14 16 11 29 17 
			  
			  South East Coast 
			 Brighton and Hove City 34 35 38 35 32 44 33 43 
			 East Sussex Downs and Weald 47 52 55 66 56 62 68 41 
			 Eastern and Coastal Kent 66 56 68 59 48 59 96 113 
			 Hastings and Rother 23 31 23 22 14 11 12 8 
			 Medway 35 21 26 26 37 32 43 30 
			 Surrey 141 116 102 158 130 152 133 160 
			 West Kent 72 62 68 71 73 65 74 83 
			 West Sussex 116 87 106 122 128 127 117 127 
			  
			  South Central 
			 Berkshire East 46 41 39 44 43 43 47 54 
			 Berkshire West 47 61 69 71 81 70 57 71 
			 Buckinghamshire 64 73 72 81 82 93 79 95 
			 Hampshire 195 177 136 207 211 278 273 260 
			 Isle of Wight NHS 26 26 12 30 34 31 44 40 
			 Milton Keynes 28 17 27 31 33 30 23 37 
			 Oxfordshire 73 78 108 129 138 152 109 147 
			 Portsmouth City Teaching 30 29 15 25 39 34 31 41 
			 Southampton City 28 13 31 31 37 46 28 41 
			  
			  South West 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 34 25 34 33 44 23 36 36 
			 Bournemouth and Poole 57 43 56 61 66 82 91 84 
			 Bristol 37 36 49 42 56 45 58 74 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 100 119 87 113 129 130 142 119 
			 Devon 137 112 122 152 161 190 186 214 
			 Dorset 75 57 86 92 118 102 104 125 
			 Gloucestershire 44 59 72 84 92 86 81 121 
			 North Somerset 30 16 20 30 42 45 40 47 
			 North Staffordshire 18 22 24 29 30 31 19 28 
			 Plymouth Teaching 46 37 23 38 60 60 66 74 
			 Somerset 74 69 78 100 114 109 149 119 
			 South Gloucestershire 28 30 28 26 36 24 46 48 
			 Swindon 16 24 31 29 28 25 23 26 
			 Torbay 19 43 21 28 39 39 37 36 
			 Wiltshire 62 64 50 74 97 101 103 110 
			 (1) Malignant melanoma of skin is defined as code C43 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) (2) Based on NHS boundaries as of 2007. (3) Each primary care organisation (PCO) is listed under the strategic health authority (SHA) to which it reports. The 152 primary care organisations include 148 primary care trusts (PCTs), and four care organisations (COs). (4) Numbers have been suppressed to protect patient confidentiality.  Source: Office for National Statistics

Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy types  (a) 1,  (b) 2 and  (c) 3 in each year since 2005.

Ivan Lewis: We do not collect that information centrally. However, NHS Direct estimates that one child in 25,000 will develop one of the three forms of spinal muscular atrophy and that one in 300,000 people will develop type four as an adult.

Thalassaemia: Screening

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what support his Department is providing to clinicians to deal with patients identified as having  (a) a sickle cell disease and  (b) Thalassaemia through the National Screening Programme;
	(2)  with reference to the answer of 26 April 2007,  Official Report, column 1263W, on blood: diseases, what progress his Department has made on the development and management of 10 managed clinical networks for Thalassaemia and sickle cell disease.

Ann Keen: The Department has been working with a range of key stakeholders to develop a model of 10 proposed managed clinical networks. The national health service plan set out a commitment to introduce new and effective screening programmes for women and children including a new national linked antenatal and neonatal programme for sickle cell and thalassaemia. The programme has now implemented newborn screening and 100 per cent. of newborn babies are now offered screening for sickle cell. Antenatal screening is expected to be fully implemented by spring 2008. The programme is expected to identify approximately 300 screen positive affected babies a year with sickle cell and haemoglobin variants from 559,098 babies across England. The benefits of this specialist care can then be managed in the right place with appropriate resources. The clinical network will build on existing expertise, to allow access to comprehensive care to be available across the country.
	A working group has been established to oversee the roll-out of the managed clinical networks, and a number of centres have now been identified.
	Supporting the national screening programme a number of recent initiatives to increase services for sickle cell and thalassaemia are now underway. These include:
	Funding of training posts for registrars, nurse consultants and clinical scientists to increase the number of staff with specific haemoglobinopathy expertise.
	Recognition by the Royal Colleges of the need to increase training in haemaglobinophies including changes to examinations and syllabus.
	Funding for a database has been provided to track patients and the care they require.

Transplant Surgery: Waiting Lists

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 4 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1130W, on transplant surgery: waiting lists, how many people were on a waiting list for an organ transplant in each primary care trust area in each year since 2001, broken down by type of organ.

Ann Keen: This information has been placed in the Library.

Varicose Veins

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated for varicose veins by  (a) vein stripping open surgery,  (b) endovenous laser treatment,  (c) radiofrequency ablation,  (d) foam sclerotherapy and  (e) using a vascular closure device in the NHS in each of the last five years, broken down by strategic health authority area.

Ann Keen: The information requested has been placed in the Library. Data for 2002-03 to 2005-06 are not directly comparable with data for 2006-07 because of changes and additions to the Office of Population Censuses and Survey's Classification of Surgical Operations and Procedure version 4 (OPSC4) codes and descriptions relating to varicose vein treatments.

Written Questions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will answer Questions  (a) 162507,  (b) 162508 and  (c) 162555 tabled by the hon. Member for Portsmouth South on 8 November 2007.

Ann Keen: A reply was given to questions 162507 and 162508 on 7 January 2008,  Official Report, column 101W, and to 162555 today.

TREASURY

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) males and  (b) females under the age of 18 years in (i) Southend, (ii) Essex and (iii) England and Wales died as a consequence of excessive alcohol consumption in each of the last seven years for which figures are available.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 8 January 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many  (a) males and  (b) females under the age of 18 years in (i) Southend, (ii) Essex and (iii) England and Wales died as a consequence of excessive alcohol consumption in each of the last seven years for which figures are available. (177129)
	The table attached provides the number of deaths of  (a) males and  (b) females under the age of 18 with an alcohol-related underlying cause in England and Wales from 2000 to 2006 (the latest year available). There were no deaths of persons under the age of 18 with an alcohol-related underlying cause in Southend-on-Sea unitary authority for these years; and one death in Essex county, a male, in 2000.
	
		
			  Table 1. Number of deaths with an alcohol-related underlying cause of death( 1) , males and females under the age of 18, England and Wales, 2000 to 2006( 2) 
			  Deaths (persons) 
			   Males  Females 
			 2000 3 2 
			 2001 1 0 
			 2002 0 0 
			 2003 5 0 
			 2004 1 1 
			 2005 1 0 
			 2006 1 0 
			 (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) for the year 2000, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) for 2001 onwards. The specific causes of death categorised as alcohol-related, and their corresponding ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes, are shown in the boxes below. (2) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. 
		
	
	
		
			  Box 1. Alcohol-related causes of deathInternational Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) 
			  Cause of death  ICD-9 code(s) 
			 Alcoholic psychoses 291 
			 Alcohol dependence syndrome 303 
			 Non-dependent abuse of alcohol 305.0 
			 Alcoholic cardiomyopathy 425.5 
			 Alcoholic fatty liver 571.0 
			 Acute alcoholic hepatitis 571.1 
			 Alcoholic cirrhosis of liver 571.2 
			 Alcoholic liver damage, unspecified 571.3 
			 Chronic hepatitis 571.4 
			 Cirrhosis of liver without mention of alcohol 571.5 
			 Other chronic non alcoholic liver disease 571.8 
			 Unspecified chronic liver disease without mention of alcohol 571.9 
			 Accidental poisoning by alcohol E860 
		
	
	
		
			  Box 2. Alcohol-related causes of deathInternational Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) 
			  Cause of death  ICD-10 code(s) 
			 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol F10 
			 Degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol G31.2 
			 Alcoholic polyneuropathy G62.1 
			 Alcoholic cardiomyopathy 142.6 
			 Alcoholic gastritis K29.2 
			 Alcoholic liver disease K70 
			 Chronic hepatitis, not elsewhere classified K73 
			 Fibrosis and cirrhosis of liver (excl. Biliary cirrhosis) K74 (excl. K74.3-K74.5) 
			 Alcohol induced chronic pancreatitis K86.0 
			 Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol X45 
			 Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to alcohol X65 
			 Poisoning by and exposure to alcohol, undetermined intent Y15

Capital Gains Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on the buy to let market and housing market of the new flat 18 per cent. rate of capital gains tax; and whether an impact assessment has been produced for this proposed tax change.

Jane Kennedy: The 2007 pre-Budget report announced a reform of the capital gains tax regime for individuals. From 6 April 2008, all disposals that attract capital gains tax will do so at a single rate of 18 per cent. The impact on investors will depend on their personal circumstances.

Child Benefit: Personal Records

James Brokenshire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials of  (a) HM Revenue and Customs and  (b) other Departments or agencies have access to (i) the entire child support database and (ii) the entire child tax credit database.

Jane Kennedy: Child benefit and tax credits are both administered by HMRC.
	On 20 November 2007 the Chancellor announced an independent review of HMRC's data handling procedures to be conducted by Kieran Poynter, the chair of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
	The interim report was published on 17 December 2007 and is available in the Library of the House.

Child Benefit: Personal Records

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what year the earliest child benefit case whose records were recently misplaced by HM Revenue and Customs dates back.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 29 November 2007
	The Acting Chairman of HM Revenue and Customs has written to all customers affected by the loss of child benefit data.
	The missing data relates to the personal details of claimants, of child benefit and their children. Child benefit is payable in respect of a child who is under the age of 16, or a person who is aged 16 or over but under 20 years where they are in qualifying full-time education or approved training.
	Child benefit claimant records are deleted five years after the award of the youngest child in the family has ceased.
	The information is not available in the format requested and is available only at disproportionate costs.

Child Benefit: Personal Records

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his statement of 20 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 1101-02, on HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), how many of the individual records missing in the transfer of information from HMRC are former claimants of child benefit resident in Southend West constituency; what the policy is of HMRC for the storing of information of former claimants of child benefit; and if he will make a statement

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the statement given in the House by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 20 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 1101-04.
	The missing information contains details of all child benefit recipients, including those in Southend West constituency.
	Information on families receiving child benefit at 31 August 2006 by constituency and local authority are published as part of National Statistics and can be found in Tables 2 and 3 of child benefit statistics geographical analysis which are available on HMRC's website at:
	http//www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/child_benefit/geog-aug06.pdf
	IT records for child benefit claimants are deleted five years after the award of the youngest child in the family has ceased.

Council Tax: Tax Yields

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the aggregated estimate for net council tax receipts for the UK, in Table B8 of the 2007 Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review, includes receipts from domestic rates in Northern Ireland.

Jane Kennedy: The figures for council tax receipts in Table B8 of the PBR/CSR document include Northern Ireland domestic rates.

Council Tax: Valuation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what purpose the dwellinghouse code valuation grouping was created by the Valuation Office Agency in its preparations for a council tax revaluation.

Jane Kennedy: No council tax revaluation is taking place, nor has the Valuation Office Agency created a dwellinghouse coding valuation grouping for one.
	A coding system has been in use for over 30 years to simplify recording of domestic property attributesthis continues as part of the Agency's responsibility to maintain the 1993 lists.

Customs Officers: Labour Turnover

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the staff turnover rate was for customs officers in HM Revenue and Customs in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 17 December 2007
	The numbers of staff leaving HM Customs and Excise yearly between 1 April 2000 and 31 March 2005 are shown in the following table. After 1 April 2005, comparable figures are not available as no statistics are available for HM Customs and Excise as a separate Department.
	
		
			   Number of leavers  Rate ( percentage ) 
			 2000-01 1,657 7 
			 2001-02 1,245 5 
			 2002-03 1,198 5 
			 2003-04 1,157 5 
			 2004-05 1,301 5 
			 2005-06 9,107 9 
			 2006-07 9,631 10

Departmental Databases

Jo Swinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many confirmed security breaches of databases controlled by his Department occurred in each of the last five years; whether the breach resulted from internal or external action in each case; how many records were compromised on each occasion; and what estimate was made of the total number of records accessible to the individuals concerned.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 13 December  2007
	Except in exceptional cases, when it is in the public interest, it has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on breaches of security.

Housing: Parking

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many domestic dwellings in England have  (a) one parking space,  (b) two parking spaces and  (c) three or more parking spaces according to the Valuation Office Agency's database of dwelling house codes and value significant codes.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 1596-97W.

Housing: Valuation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Valuation Office Agency's assessment of the plot size of a residential property includes the area of a  (a) garage space,  (b) outbuildings and  (c) garden inside the curtilage of the property as a whole.

Jane Kennedy: Yes.

Inheritance Tax: Tax Thresholds

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether an impact assessment has been produced for the proposed changes to inheritance tax thresholds for married couples.

Jane Kennedy: Preliminary work identified that, in accordance with current guidance, an impact assessment was not required. In line with normal procedure, preliminary work is not published.

Inheritance Tax: Valuation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what role the Valuation Office Agency plays in undertaking inheritance tax valuations.

Jane Kennedy: The Valuation Office Agency provides advice to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs in connection with inheritance tax through the provision of valuations of land, buildings, lordships of the manor, growing crops, live and dead farming stock, plant, machinery and fixtures. At the request of HMRC the VOA also undertakes negotiations with taxpayers or their agents to resolve any differences of opinion on valuation matters.

Inheritance Tax: Valuation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average capital value was of a domestic dwelling valued by the Valuation Office Agency for inheritance tax purposes, in each government office region area, in the last year for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Inheritance Tax: Valuation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many homes the Valuation Office Agency valued for inheritance tax purposes in  (a) England and  (b) Wales in 2006-07.

Jane Kennedy: This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Irish

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Irish citizens are estimated to be resident in the UK; and what estimate he has made of the likely number in 2017.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 17 December 2007
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 8 January 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to respond on behalf of the Chancellor of the Exchequer concerning your question about how many Irish citizens are estimated to be resident in the UK; and what estimate he has made of the likely number in 2017. (174762)
	I would refer you to the answer given in the Official Report of 20 November 2007, Volume 467, Column 704.

Non-domestic Rates: Empty Property

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether an impact assessment was conducted of the reduction of empty business rate relief on business properties.

Jane Kennedy: A Regulatory Impact Assessment considering the reform of Empty Property Relief in business rates was published on 11 May 2007 and can be found on the Communities and Local Government website.

Non-domestic Rates: Empty Property

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of businesses which will pay higher business rates as a consequence of the reduction in empty property business rate relief.

Jane Kennedy: No estimates are available.

Non-domestic Rates: Pigeon Racing

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether HM Revenue and Customs recognises pigeon racing as a sport for business rates purposes.

Jane Kennedy: Sports clubs can qualify for mandatory business rates relief of 80 per cent. if they are registered charities or registered with HMRC as Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs). However, it is for local authorities, not HMRC, to determine whether to exercise their powers to give up to 100 per cent. discretionary rate relief to non-profit making bodies including sports clubs that are not eligible for mandatory relief either as a charity or a CASC. It is also not for HMRC to decide which activities are eligible sports for the CASC scheme. Eligible sports are defined by Treasury Order, by reference to the Sports Councils' list of recognised activities. The list can be accessed at:
	www.sportengland.org/index/get_resources/resource_ul.htm

Non-domestic Rates: Valuation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date the Valuation Office Agency's Non-Domestic Referencing Manual was last updated.

Jane Kennedy: The Valuation Office Agency's Non-Domestic Referencing Manual was last updated on 15 October 2007.

Non-domestic Rates: Valuation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether  (a) the Valuation Office Agency and  (b) HM Revenue and Customs has commenced the procurement process to develop an automated valuation model for non-domestic rates valuations.

Jane Kennedy: Neither  (a) the Valuation Office Agency, nor  (b) HM Revenue and Customs is intending to commence such a procurement process.

Northern Rock

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Northern Rock meets banking covenants on  (a) profitability and  (b) cash flow on its borrowing from his Department and the Bank of England.

Kitty Ussher: On 14 September 2007 the Chancellor of the Exchequer authorised the Bank of England to provide a liquidity support facility to Northern Rock. A further facility with the Bank of England was announced on 11 October 2007. Extensive representations, warranties and undertakings govern the terms and conditions of the loans. The terms and conditions of the facilities are confidential.

Offshore Industry: North Sea

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the net cumulative contribution made to the British economy by North Sea oil and gas over the last three decades, expressed in 2007 prices.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	North Sea oil and gas has made a huge contribution to the British economy over the last three decades but that contribution cannot be encapsulated as a single value in 2007 (or any other) prices. Between 1997 and 2006, the cumulative gross revenue of the UK upstream oil and gas sector, principally from sales of oil and gas produced from the North Sea, amounted to 761 billion in 2006 prices. Over the same period, cumulative operating costs of the sector amounted to 129 billion in 2006 prices. The cumulative total gross operating surplus of the UK upstream oil and gas sector between 1997 and 2006 was thus 632 billion in 2006 prices. The gross operating surplus of the sector is a little less than its gross value added (GVA), data for which go back only to 1985. GVA is the best single measure of a sector's contribution to Gross Domestic Product. Over the period 1997 to 2006, the UK upstream oil and gas sector spent a further 44 billion in 2006 prices on exploration and appraisal and 171 billion on capital expenditure (these and previous data come from the BERR Oil and Gas websitehttp://www.og.dti.gov.uk/information/bb_updates/appendices/Appendix7.htm). It also contributed 233 billion in 2006/07 prices to the Exchequer over the period 1977/78 to 2006/07 (source: BERR Oil and Gas websitehttp://www.og.dti.gov.uk/information/bb_updates/appendices/Appendix8.htm). None of these figures captures the overall net impact the sector has had on the economy.

OGC Buying Solutions

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the ratio was between administrative costs and value for money improvements secured by OGC Buying Solutions in each year since 2003-04; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: The following table shows the ratio of administrative costs, which has been assumed to be total organisational operating costs, against value-for-money (VFM) improvements. These have been reported in the annual report and accounts 2006-07.
	
		
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 VFM improvements ( million) 152 321 412 516 
			 Internal costs ( million) 16 19 21 21 
			  
			 Ratio: 
			 Cost per  VFM improvements 0.105 0.059 0.050 0.041

Personal Income: Cleethorpes

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average household income was in Cleethorpes constituency in each year since 1997.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 8 January 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the average household income was in the Cleethorpes constituency in each year since 1997 (176890).
	Estimates of household income which include income from all sources such as earnings, benefits, pensions, and investment income, are generally based on household surveys. The largest of these is the Family Resources Survey which has an annual sample in the UK of around 28,000 households. This is sufficient to produce estimates of household income at national and regional level, but not for smaller areas. Statistics on earnings by employees are available for local authorities from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) which is an employer based survey.
	The ONS has published estimates of household income for wards for 2001/02, and using a newer geographical classificationthe medium layer super output areasfor 2004/05. There are no figures available for other years. The geographical boundaries and data sources used in producing the 2004/05 figures are different to those used for 2001/02 so they are not directly comparable. In particular, they cannot be used to provide an accurate measure of change over this period. Both estimates are based on a statistical model and are classed as experimental statisticsthis means they have been developed in accordance with the principles set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice but have yet to be fully accredited as National Statistics. They are available through the Neighbourhood Statistics section of the ONS website.
	Table 1 shows mean net equivalised incomes, both before and after housing costs, for Cleethorpes parliamentary constituency in 2001/02, and for the wards that made up the constituency. Table 2 shows just average incomes for Cleethorpes constituency in 2004/05. The estimates for 2004/05 are based on the super output areas which do not correspond to areas which are as easily recognisable 'on the ground' as wards. They are designed to be built up to form larger areas and so Table 2 shows only an average for the constituency as a whole. All of these figures for Cleethorpes and wards within Cleethorpes, either appear in the 'experimental' datasets described above, or have been calculated directly from them.
	For comparison with these figures, both Tables 1 and 2 provide mean incomes for either Great Britain or the UK for the relevant years. These are based on the Households Below Average Income series derived from the Family Resources Survey, and are National Statistics. The Household Below Average Income series generally presents results based on median incomes, however mean incomes are presented here to be directly comparable with the small area statistics.
	
		
			  Table 1: Average  weekly household income 2001- 02( 1) 
			   per week 
			   Net weekly equivalised household income (before housing costs)( 2)  Net weekly equivalised household income (after housing costs)( 2) 
			 Wards in Cleethorpes constituency 
			 Croft Baker 310 260 
			 East Marsh(3) 250 200 
			 Haverstoe 370 340 
			 Sidney Sussex(3) 290 250 
			 Waltham 370 350 
			 Wolds 380 360 
			 Barton 330 300 
			 Ferry 350 320 
			 Humberston and New Waltham 360 330 
			
			 Cleethorpes(4) 340 300 
			
			 Great Britain 390 340 
			 (1) Figures rounded to the nearest 10. (2) Housing costs include rent (gross of housing benefit), water charges, mortgage interest payments, structural insurance and ground rent and service charges. (3) These wards are split between Cleethorpes parliamentary constituency and Great Grimsby parliamentary constituency. (4) Based on an average of the ward incomes, weighted for the number of households in each ward.  Source: ONS, Department for Work and Pensions. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Average weekly household income 2004-05( 1) 
			   per week 
			   Net weekly equivalised household income (before housing costs)( 2)  Net weekly equivalised household income (after housing costs)( 2) 
			 Cleethorpes(3) 360 340 
			
			 UK 430 370 
			 (1) Figures rounded to the nearest 10. (2) Housing costs include rent (gross of housing benefit), water charges, mortgage interest payments, structural insurance and ground rent and service charges. (3) Based on a population weighted average of medium layer super output areas.  Source: ONS, Department for Work and Pensions.

Poynter Review

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the timetable is for the  (a) completion and  (b) publication of the Poynter Review.

Jane Kennedy: An interim report was published on 17 December 2007 and is available in the Library of the House.
	It is expected that the full review will be completed and published in the first half of 2008.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the statement by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 612.

Research and Development Tax Credit

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value was of research and development (R and D) tax credits paid to  (a) small and medium sized enterprises and  (b) larger companies in each year since the R and D tax credit was introduced.

Angela Eagle: Estimates of the annual cost of RD tax credits are published as National Statistics on the HM Revenue and Customs website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/corporate_tax/randdtcmenu.htm.

Revenue and Customs: Data Protection

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps HM Revenue and Customs takes to inform private courier firms of the sensitivity of the contents of packages it employs them to deliver.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 3 December 2007
	On 20 November the Chancellor announced an independent review of HMRC's data handling procedures to be conducted by Kieran Poynter, the chair of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
	The interim report was published on 17 December 2007 and is available in the Library of the House.

Revenue and Customs: Data Protection

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what form of encryption algorithm is used to encrypt data sent  (a) from the Student Loans Company to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and  (b) from HMRC to the Student Loans Company.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1490W in response to earlier questions on the same subject.

Revenue and Customs: Manpower

Andrew Selous: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff work for the International Claims Processing Section of HM Revenue and Customs; and what its annual operating costs were in the last year for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 17 December 2007
	It is not possible to isolate operating costs or the numbers of staff handling international claims work across HM Revenue and Customs.

Revenue and Customs: Powers

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what powers HM Revenue and Customs has to obtain information on estate agent transactions.

Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs have a range of powers to obtain information relevant to ascertaining liability to tax and other duties. Estate agents, like others, can come within the scope of these powers but there are no information powers specifically concerned with obtaining information on estate agent transactions.

Revenue and Customs: Prosecutions

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2007,  Official Report, column 587W, on Revenue and Customs: prosecutions, how many of the 15 criminal prosecutions completed against HM Revenue and Customs staff for matters relating to their employment during 2006-07 related to  (a) fraud,  (b) fraud involving financial gain and  (c) fraud involving financial gain relating to tax credits.

Jane Kennedy: Prosecutions are taken forward against the very small number of HMRC's 88,000 staff who abuse their position of trust.
	Of the 15 criminal prosecutions reported on 29 November 2007,  Official Report, column 587W:
	Six prosecutions related to fraud involving financial gain
	Six prosecutions related to fraud involving financial gain relating to tax credits.
	The remaining three prosecutions related to charges of misfeasance in a public office.

Temporary Employment: Manpower

Stephen Byers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) number and  (b) percentage of those in employment who were (i) agency workers and (ii) temporary employees was in each year since 1995.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 13 December 2007
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 8 January 2008:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the (a) number and (b) percentage of those in employment who were (i) agency workers and (ii) temporary employees in each year since 1995. I am replying in her absence. (174026)
	The attached table gives the number and percentage of people in the categories requested for the three month period ending June each year, from 1997 to 2007. Comparable estimates are not available prior to 1997 said for 1998 and 2000.
	Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Number of people aged 16 and over who are temporary employees, April to June, 1997-2007, United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Thousand, except where indicated 
			  Three months ending June each year  Total in employment  Temporary employees  Temporary employees as a percentage of total in employment  Temporary agency workers( 1)  Temporary agency workers as a percentage of total in employment 
			 1997 26,356 1,739 6.6 235 0.9 
			 1999 26,876 1,615 6.0 256 1.0 
			 2001 27,438 1,652 6.0 268 1.0 
			 2002 27,617 1,521 5.5 278 1.0 
			 2003 27,863 1,422 5.1 246 0.9 
			 2004 28,024 1,436 5.1 232 0.8 
			 2005 28,193 1,371 4.9 253 0.9 
			 2006 28,339 1,382 4.9 244 0.9 
			 2007 28,434 1,427 5.0 275 1.0 
			 (1) Temporary agency workers are included in the temporary employees total.  Note: Comparable data not available for 1998 or 2000.  Source: Labour Force Survey (LFS)

Valuation Office

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the Valuation Office Agency's CT and Best Practice Process Maps.

Jane Kennedy: The Council Tax Process Maps and Best Practice guidance is contained in the Valuation Office Agency's How2 toolkit. This is held in linked electronic formats within the Valuation Office Agency's main IT systems and can be viewed with full functionality only through the appropriate software package. To provide a copy in the Library could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Valuation Office

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the Valuation Office Agency's technical presentation entitled The Dating Game.

Jane Kennedy: 'The Dating Game' is not a technical presentation. It is an exercise used for internal staff training purposes. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

Valuation Office

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what use the Valuation Office Agency makes of intelligent addressing for valuation purposes.

Jane Kennedy: None.

Valuation Office

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Valuation Office Agency spent on purchasing floodplain polygons from the Environment Agency; and what use is made of the data for valuation purposes.

Jane Kennedy: The Valuation Office Agency was provided with floodplain polygon data at no charge. The data are not currently used for valuation purposes.

Valuation Office

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Valuation Office Agency has purchased a licence to use the pictometry product which Ordnance Survey sells on behalf of Blom Aerofilms Ltd.

Jane Kennedy: No.

Valuation Office

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the average values are of coefficients for the Valuation Office Agency's value significant codes of  (a) ZL,  (b) ZI and  (c) ZH for those sections of the country for which they are available;
	(2)  what the estimated weighted national averages of coefficients are for the Valuation Office Agency's value significant codes of  (a) ZL,  (b) ZI and  (c) ZH;
	(3)  what the coefficients are for the Valuation Office Agency's value significant codes of  (a) ZL,  (b) ZI and  (c) ZH, broken down by (i) time period, (ii) area and (iii) property type; and whether the dependent variables are calculated on a linear basis.

Jane Kennedy: The information is either not available or could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Valuation Office: Cars

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Valuation Office Agency spent on hire cars in the last financial year for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: The Valuation Office Agency spent a total of 637,028.80 (542,666.69 excluding VAT) on hire cars in 2006-07.
	Hire cars are used by the Agency as a cost effective alternative to paying a mileage rate for private car use on official business. The nature of VOA responsibilities necessitates considerable travelling to inspect and value properties.

Valuation Office: Cole Layer Trumble

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effects the restructuring of HM Revenue and Customs Aspire contract has had on the commissioning of services from Cole Layer Trumble for the Valuation Office Agency.

Jane Kennedy: None.

Valuation Office: Cole Layer Trumble

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what functions and business areas of the Valuation Office Agency Cole Layer Trumble have provided consultancy advice or support in the last 12 months.

Jane Kennedy: Over the past 12 months, Cole Layer Trumble has provided consultancy to the Valuation Office Agency on using automated valuation modelling techniques to support the Agency's functions relating to local taxation.

Valuation Office: ICT

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer into which local authority areas the 10,000 localities that the Valuation Office Agency has established for developing the automated valuation model fall.

Jane Kennedy: All local authorities in England.

Valuation Office: ICT

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans the Valuation Office Agency has to increase digitisation and computerisation of its records in relation to individual premises or properties.

Jane Kennedy: The VOA constantly reviews the way in which it holds its key records. Further digitisation or computerisation of its records will only be undertaken where it is considered to be both cost-effective and affordable.

Valuation Office: ICT

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Valuation Office Agency's information technology and data management systems are BS7799 compliant.

Jane Kennedy: Yes.

Valuation Office: ICT

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether funding has been agreed by his Department for the Valuation Office Agency to obtain a GIS system.

Jane Kennedy: The VOA has commissioned its IT partner to develop a Geographic Information System.

Valuation Office: Manpower

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many full-time equivalent staff are employed by the Valuation Office Agency for undertaking work relating to  (a) council tax valuations and  (b) business rate valuations.

Jane Kennedy: At 2 January 2008, the VGA employed 4,037 full time equivalent staff of whom approximately 3,500 were engaged on council tax valuations and business rate valuations. As staff work flexibly across these local taxation activities, according to work demands, no further breakdown is available.

Valuation Office: Ordnance Survey

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what use the Valuation Office Agency makes of Ordnance Survey maps and datasets to calculate the plot sizes of residential properties.

Jane Kennedy: The Valuation Office Agency uses digital mapping tools, based on Ordnance Survey maps and datasets, to help determine plot sizes for residential properties.

Valuation Office: Rightmove

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Valuation Office Agency plans to exercise the option in its contract with Rightmove.co.uk plc to extend the term for a further 12 months.

Jane Kennedy: It is not normal practice to disclose commercially sensitive information.

Valuation Office: Training

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the Valuation Office Agency's eLearning module The Role of the AVM.

Jane Kennedy: This module was produced for internal staff training purposes in preparation for the (now postponed) council tax revaluation in England. It has been withdrawn from use.

Valuation Office: Travel

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tonnes of carbon dioxide were offset against travel by the Valuation Office Agency in the last year for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: This figure is displayed, along with further information about the GCOF, in the public domain on the Defra website at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/uk/carbonoffset/government.htm

Valuation Office: Video Recordings

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the titles were of the 25 internal videos produced for staff on the Valuation Office Agency's wide area network since October 2004.

Jane Kennedy: The information is as follows.
	World Class Video MagazinesSpring, Summer and Autumn 2006
	Andrew HudsonOn the way ahead for the Agency
	The new restructured Human Resources Directorate
	IRRV Conference 2004Brighton
	Out and About in Peterborough
	Andrew Hudson Staff Survey 2004
	Head of Customer ServicesFreedom of Information Act 2000
	A New Year message from Andrew Hudson
	Staff Survey 2004Insight into results (Andrew HudsonCEO)
	Message from ODPM client (March, 2005)
	Introducing the new intranet
	Right First Time Introduction
	Message from CLG client (September 2005)
	Next steps for the AgencyAndrew Hudson Chief Executive (November 2005)
	Moving forward into 2006A message from Andrew Hudson
	BPS Introduction
	Achieving World ClassBack-Up Recording of Live Broadcast
	Achievements and ChallengesVideo Message from Andrew Hudson (31.07.06)
	New functions for the VOA29 November 2006
	New Year MessageTuesday 16 January 2007
	2007-08 Forward Plan MessageAndrew Hudson
	Delivering the VisionWhere we are at the half-way milestone
	The Rent Service

Valuation: Licensed Premises

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether section 825 of the Valuation Office Agency's Rating Manual Volume 5 has been updated in light of the Licensing Act 2003.

Jane Kennedy: The Rating Manual section on public houses, licensed restaurants and wine bars is being reviewed and comprehensively rewritten, and will incorporate all necessary charges.

Valuation: Shops

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the Valuation Office Agency's zoning of shops handbook guidance.

Jane Kennedy: A copy of the Valuation Office Agency's zoning of shops handbook guidanceIt's all a question of zoning has been placed in the Library.

VAT: Crown Dependencies

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which categories of products illegal to market in the UK qualify for relief from value added tax under the Low Value Consignment Relief Scheme when imported for personal use from the Crown dependencies.

Jane Kennedy: Any goods which can legitimately be imported for personal use and which fulfil the relevant criteria, may benefit from the Low Value Consignment Relief scheme if the total value of the consignment does not exceed 18.

VAT: Crown Dependencies

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons personal imports from the Channel Islands of certain food supplements and herbal remedies which cannot be marketed in the UK directly are exempt from liability for value added tax (VAT) under the Low Value Consignment Relief Scheme; what assessment he has made of the impact of such exemptions on health food retailers and mail order companies in the UK; when he next plans to review his policy on such VAT exemptions; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Goods imported into the United Kingdom from the Channel Islands are subject to import VAT in the same way as goods imported from any country outside the European Union.
	However, under European Community legislation, import VAT is not payable on commercial consignments, if the total value of the goods in the consignment does not exceed 18.
	There is no prohibition on the importation of food supplements for personal use within the EC Food Supplement Directive, with the exception within the UK of Kava-Kava containing foodstuffs. Therefore UK Customs must apply the VAT exemption rules until the policy on the import of such goods is changed.
	No assessment has been made on specific products imported under the Import VAT Accounting Scheme, but the scheme is very closely monitored taking into account the revenue consequences and the impact on the UK market.

VAT: Home Information Packs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue has been collected by HM Revenue and Customs in VAT on home information packs.

Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs does not collect data on VAT from individual goods and services.